Women's Lacrosse Falls to Defending Champion Boston University

Courtesy: UAlbany Sports Information

Boston, Mass. -- Traci Landy equaled a career-high with four goals, including two in each half, and Lauren Morton added three in leading top-seed Boston University to a 17-6 victory over UAlbany in the semifinal round of the America East Conference Tournament on Friday, April 25 at Nickerson Field. The Terriers, who are ranked No. 8 nationally by the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse, posted their 12th consecutive win.

Boston U. (15-2) leaped to a 3-0 lead over the opening six minutes by dominating the draw. Landy, a sophomore midfielder, struck from the middle of the zone, before McKinley Curro scored from left of the cage to complete a wrap-around move. Sarah Dalton, the conference’s player of the year who had two goals and one assist, completed the outburst when she cut into the middle and connected inside the far post off Xan Weitzel’s feed.

Weitzel, a sophomore who tied a career-best for points with two goals and three assists, gave her team a 6-0 advantage with 18:39 remaining in the period. She worked her way around the net to place a low shot from the left past goalkeeper Katie Neer. UAlbany (8-9) got on the scoreboard when defender Tricia Primomo picked up a turnover in her defensive half of the field. Following a restart, Rory Redmond carried the ball up the left sideline and found freshman Jodi Battaglia who drove to net for the first of her two goals.

The Terriers, who have won the previous three America East tournament championships and made three straight NCAA appearances, tallied four unanswered to post a 10-1 margin. During that stretch, Steph Walker connected on a shot that went off the right post to finish a successful clearing attempt. Dalton cut to the middle to score off a pass from behind from Curro, who totaled two goals and two assists. Weitzel converted Landy’s pass in a free-position situation with 1:25 left in the period.

“The draw controls were huge,” said UAlbany coach Lindsey Hart, whose team lost 19 of 25 draws during the contest. “We knew we would have to win those and score on a large majority of our possessions. Boston U. is tenacious and aggressive and so experienced. They play with their heads and their bodies; their feet are always moving.”

The Terriers, who defeated UAlbany in last year’s championship final, led 11-2 at halftime, but then reeled off four straight goals to begin the second half. Molly Collins and Landy found the net nearly one minute apart after their squad won consecutive draws. UAlbany’s Kayla Best ended that run by connecting on a hard angle from the left side. She extended her goal-scoring streak to 30 consecutive games, the fifth-best mark among current Division I players. Meghan Merriam and Redmond would add second-half goals for the Great Danes, who dropped all 10 meetings in this series, including three league postseason games.

“They can receive and pass from anywhere in the eight-meter zone,” explained Best, who was named to the all-conference first team on Thursday. “If we want to challenge them in the future, we need to become more disciplined like them, run in the midfield and in transition, and finish shots.”

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America East Conference Tournament - Semifinal Round

#8 Boston U. 17, UAlbany 6

UAlbany – Scoring: Jodi Battaglia 2-0, Rory Redmond 1-0, Kayla Best, Molly Ortolano 1-0, Meghan Merriam 1-0, Stacey Brown 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Katie Neer (60:00, 4 saves, 17 GA).

Boston U. - Scoring: Traci Landy 4-1, Lauren Morton 3-0, Xan Weitzel 2-3, McKinley Curro 2-2, Darah Dalton 2-1, Steph Walker 2-0, Molly Collins 1-0, Alyssa Kovach 1-0, Jenny Taft 0-1; Goalkeeper(s): Rachel Klein (60:00, 5 saves, 6 GA).