Women's Soccer Preview - Such Great Heights

By: Marc Filippino

How do you make a near perfect team better?

The answer is simple: Make it perfect. The task is easier said than done for the 2009 Boston University Women’s Soccer team.

In case you missed the Terrier’s 2008 run, they were, in fact, perfect against the rest of the America East. They allowed only three goals, scored 20 of their own and went 8-0, capturing the America East Title for the second consecutive year. The Terriers made other teams look like Shaq’s appearance on RAW. Yea, that bad.

Take a look at colleague Tristan Hobbes' write-up recapping last season for BU.





The good news for the Terriers is that most of the conference title team is returning for the 2009 season. Junior midfielder Corie Halasz ('11), who had four goals and one assist last year, is back surrounded by experienced teammates. Senior midfielders Farrell McClernon ('10) and Emily Pallotta ('10), who had four goals each last year, will try to lead the Terriers with their three years of NCAA experience.

On the defensive end, senior Casey Brown ('10) is coming off a stellar year, winning the America East Defender of the Year Award. Junior Lina Cords ('11) not only poses as a defensive threat, but can also shoot the ball. Last season, Cords had two goals and three assists, leading the Terrier’s defense in offensive points.

The Terriers are locked in with senior Janie Reilly ('10) as their starting goalie. Reilly had an impressive year in 2008 with 60 saves and only 13 goals allowed. With her in net, the Terriers had 10 shutout wins. If by chance if Reilly gets hurt, back-up Annie Tooley ('12) allowed just one goal in 195 minutes of play with a .883 save percentage.

Obviously, the Terriers are the team to beat. That’s why they have been picked to win the America East Championship by the conference head coaches for the sixth straight year.

So that’s it? Case closed? The Terriers win the America East. Why bother even playing a regular season and skip straight to the NCAA tournament?

Well although the Terriers may seem to have the division locked up, there are a couple of speed bumps that could hurt BU this year.


With two time Midfielder of the Year award winner Marisha Schumacher-Hodge ('09) gone, the Terriers need to make up a large portion of the offense on an already low scoring team. Coach Nancy Feldman will need to have one of her fast and experienced midfielders (perhaps Halasz or senior Mara Osher ('10)) take the reins as the go-to shooter. On a positive note, Schumacher-Hodge didn’t score until half way through the ’08 season against Vermont, and the Terriers still had a winning record up until that point (6-5-1).

With holes in the offense, the Terriers have to rely on a tight defense. Last year, BU had one of the best in the conference, allowing just 14 goals in 22 games in 2008. Unfortunately, Elizabeth Speck ('09) and Shannon Mullen ('09), who both started all 22 games as defensive backs just graduated.

Speck, a strong outside defender, and Mullen, a strong central defender, were part of a defense that held opponents to less than a goal per game, and 12 shutouts throughout the season. The Terriers still have Brown and Cords to anchor the defense, which will have some new faces while Feldman finds a permanent solution.

Even with the holes in the Terriers’ roster, BU still is the dominant team in the America East, so don’t panic. Five-time Coach of the Year Feldman has a knack of finding new talent and making it work on field. In her 15 years as coach, she has brought the team to six America East championships, with high expectations to win it again this year.