The Boston University women’s lacrosse team earned its first road win of the season behind senior midfielder Mackenzie Howe’s third career hat trick. The Terriers beat Fairfield 14-12 on Wednesday, moving them to 3-2 on the season.
Howe and senior attacker Kailey Conry both came through with clutch goals in the final minutes of the second half. Until Howe scored off an assist from sophomore midfielder Maddie MacMaster with five minutes remaining, the Terriers and Stags were locked in a 12-12 tie after trading goals for the majority of the game. Conry’s goal a few minutes later put the game out of reach for Fairfield.
In addition to Howe, Conry, MacMaster, and junior attacker Makenzie Irvine shouldered a bulk of the scoring for BU with two goals each. Both Conry and MacMaster recorded an assist.
Junior attacker Ava Barry, junior defender Nicole Foringer, freshman midfielder Claire Gola, and freshman attacker Lauren Kaye all netted goals for BU. Kaye has scored in all five of the Terriers’ contests thus far.
The Terriers relied on several different players to step up without senior midfielder Lexi Lewis and junior midfielder Emily Vervlied’s usual contributions. Lewis went 1-for-5, while Vervlied was benched after essentially being a nonfactor in BU’s loss to Dartmouth on Saturday and did not attempt a shot.
Senior goalie Bianca Smith also spent more time on the sidelines than expected. After starting the game and failing to record a save in 13 minutes, Bianca Smith was replaced by sophomore goalie Kennady Smith. Kennady Smith made five saves and allowed seven goals.
Fairfield was no competition for BU when it came to draw controls, where the Terriers had a 19-8 advantage. Barry secured seven draw controls and Lewis won six.
Senior midfielder Christine Carugati stood out on defense. Carugati picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers.
One area of concern for the Terriers was free position shots. Although Lewis made BU’s single free position shot, Fairfield attempted eight free position shots and made five of them, perhaps making the game closer than it should have been.
With the win, the Terriers end their road trip with a 1-1 split. BU returns to action at Nickerson Field on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. against Harvard. Harvard has only a 1-2 record, but they have faced ranked opponents Colorado and Denver in their last two games.
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