Nov. 1, 2008

 

Box Score

 

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Senior Sheena Berry scored in the second minute of overtime to lift the Boston University field hockey team to a thrilling 2-1 road victory over Vermont on Saturday afternoon at Moulton Winder Field. With the result, the Terriers secured their fifth straight 10-win season and earned a spot in next weekend's America East Championship.

The Terriers close out the regular season with a record of 10-9 (3-2 AE), moving past .500 for the first time since the second week of the season. The Catamounts finish their 2008 campaign with a even record of 9-9 and a 1-4 conference mark.

After Vermont got on the board first at 12:18, junior Nikki Lloyd - who assisted on the overtime tally - tied the contest under six minutes later. Neither team was able to break the tie in the second half.

The Terriers controlled the ball from the start of overtime and ended the game on the first shot of the extra session. Lloyd chased down a deflected pass on the right side of the field and penetrated the circle before sliding the ball over to Berry, who blasted the ball to the top right corner of the goal at 71:35 to complete the come-from-behind victory.

The Catamounts opened the scoring when senior Maegan Luce sent elevated a reverse-stick drive past BU goalkeeper Kim Kastuk to energize the home crowd in the 13th minute of play.

The UVM lead was short-lived, however, as Lloyd turned in an impressive individual effort at 17:58 for her team-leading seventh goal of the season.

The junior eluded a pair of Vermont defenders along the left side and broke free into the circle before drawing UVM goalkeeper Kristen Heavens out of the cage. Lloyd was left with a virtually wide-open net from a tough angle on the left side, but showed off her composure by squaring up and calmly lifting the ball to the netting for the equalizer.

BU held a slim 6-5 advantage in shots as each side registered three shots in the first half and two in the second half. The Terriers earned five penalty corners while allowing none.

The 2008 America East Championship will take place at the winner of Sunday's regular-season finale between Albany and New Hampshire. The semifinals will be played on Friday (Nov. 7) and the final will be contested on Sunday (Nov. 9). BU has won the last three America East tournament titles.