The American University lacrosse team (6-10) fell to the Boston University Terriers (9-8) in their April 26 game 19-15.
BU’s offense took almost no time to get started as they opened the scoring a minute and a half into the game. That first goal would be 1 of 10 scored in just the first quarter. Sophomore goalkeeper Lexi Rakis intercepted a pass attempted from behind her crease to temporarily hold off the Terrier offense, but they would not last long as they quickly added on another 3 goals to go up 4-0.
BU dominated the draw controls early, winning 6 of the first 7, and AU hardly had possession until junior defender Jordan Mitchell secured a ground ball. Mitchell’s pickup got the ball into freshman midfielder Kellie Linehan’s stick, allowing her to score on a free-position shot. Not to be outdone, the Terriers immediately responded with a free-position goal of their own to regain the 4-goal lead.
Junior midfielder Lizzie De Guzman won the next draw control, giving American more opportunities to score. Freshman midfielder Reagan Murdoch capitalized on De Guzman’s win and scored on a pass from sophomore midfielder Becca Frank. Next it was Frank’s turn to score after a solid assist, this time from sophomore attacker Maddy Spratt. Although the Eagles lost most of the draw controls to begin the game, they did go on a better streak as they won three in a row towards the end of the quarter. The Terriers scored twice more in the final 30 seconds of the quarter and went into the break up 7-3.
The Eagles bounced back a bit in the second quarter, though their 5 goals to BU’s 3 hardly made a dent in the 4-goal lead. Murdoch netted the first AU goal of the quarter on a free position shot, her second goal of the game. Junior midfielder Hannah Spease broke the six-minute scoring drought to bring the Eagles within 3 goals of the Terriers. Spease remained engaged in the action as she won the draw control and assisted senior attacker Emma Hare on American’s next goal.
BU scored intermittently this quarter, but American had the edge and finished off the half with 2 quick goals, the first by Spratt and the second by freshman attacker Annabelle Jackson.
The Eagles kept up the strong offense in the third quarter, winning the opening draw control and scoring the first 2 goals to tie the game 10-10 thanks to sophomore attacker Alyssa Apuzzo and Murdoch. The Terriers reasserted themselves and proceeded to score 5 goals unanswered. Frank finally broke the streak and brought the Eagles back within 3, but it would be no use. BU dominated both goals and draw controls during the third quarter, outscoring American 7 to 3 and winning seven of the 11 draws.
The Eagles seemingly figured out their game by the fourth quarter, but it would be too little too late. Apuzzo scored her second of the game from Frank to open the quarter. Jackson scored her second as well just a minute later, bringing American back within 4 goals. BU grew their lead one final time, scoring twice quickly before the Eagles would finish the game with 2 goals from Frank and senior midfielder Sydney Wender to lose the game 19-15.
“We just talked about with the team is this idea of continuing to leave the program better than you left it. I think the seniors did an incredible job of doing that,” said head coach Lindsay Teeters. “I think there’s more that we can give and some changes that we can make to keep pushing ourselves to be one of the top teams in the Patriot League.”
This article was edited by Delaney Hoke and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Isabelle Kravis and Natasha LaChac.
