Terriers Open Season With 7-2 Victory Over Merrimack

Friday, August 28

Boston, MA

4 PM

Boston University

(1-0)

Merrimack

(0-1)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Merrimack	1	0	1	0	2
Boston U.	4	0	2	1	7

Photo by: Eliza Nuestro

Terriers Open Season With 7-2 Victory Over Merrimack

August 28, 2026 | Field Hockey

Box Score Highlights Shute/Bergner Postgame

BOSTON - The Boston University field hockey team opened its season and a new era with a 7-2 triumph over Merrimack on Friday at New Balance Field.

Seniors Alex Purcell found Bella Bergner for two goals and sophomore Lucy Johnson scored her first two goals as a Terrier to help Sarah Shute earn a win in her first game as the BU head coach.

Freshman Jenna Park scored less than two minutes into her collegiate career while graduate student Maddie Hudson, who has missed three full seasons due to injury, notched her first goal at BU and classmate Caroline O'Brien also found the back of the cage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Park opened the scoring on an impressive individual effort, intercepting a ball in the midfield before dribbling through the Merrimack defense and sliding a reverse-stick shot to the boards just 1:23 into the contest.
Hudson made it a 2-0 lead when she redirected a pass from the left side by senior Nicole Lauro, allowing the ball to trickle past the goal line at the near post at the 12:13 mark.
Merrimack got on the board just over a minute later but the Terriers were able to score twice in the final minute of the opening half to up their lead.
Off a restart along the right side, Purcell delivered a perfect long entry towards the middle of the circle, where Bergner tipped it up inside the left post for a 3-1 lead with 57 seconds left in the second quarter.
BU earned a corner right before the first-half horn sounded and took full advantage of the opportunity.
Bergner was on the insert and senior Maggie Driscoll set up a try for Purcell, who drilled a low ball that Bergner redirected to the top of the net to create a 4-1 cushion heading into the break.
The Terriers earned their first four-goal lead in the 40th minute off a circle penetration by Johnson on the left side as her pass found senior Bella Cloutier, who quickly spotted O'Brien all alone at the right post for BU's fifth goal of the contest.
Merrimack got one back with under five minutes left in the third quarter to make it a 5-2 affair.
Johnson scored the final two goals of the game with her first as a Terrier coming at the 43:24 mark, taking a pass from Cloutier from outside the circle before an impressive individual effort along the left side that ended with quick flick to the back of the cage.
With 5:47 left in regulation, Johnson cleaned up a rebound with a shot to the netting on a play that was started with an entry ball from Driscoll to freshman Frederique van Beijma.

GAME NOTES

The seven goals were the most in a game from BU since a 7-4 win at Lafayette on Sept. 29, 2018, and the most at home in almost 10 years (9-0 vs. Colgate, 9/17/16).
Bergner scored the second and third goals of her collegiate career while Purcell had her second two-assist game as a Terrier.
Senior Sophie Ortyl picked up her 10th career win in goal.
BU held a 30-3 shot advantage and had 21 go on goal.
Audra Szymborski (9) and Kayla Whitters (5) combined for 14 saves for the visitors.

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