Freshman midfielder Julianna Chen and the Terriers could not find the net despite generating a multitude of chances. PHOTO BY JUSTIN HAWK/DFP FILE PHOTO

Despite recording 13 shots in its game against Harvard University, the Boston University women’s soccer team could not pull off the win, as it fell to the Crimson by a score of 2-1 Tuesday night at Nickerson Field. It is the Terriers’ first loss in over a month.

Coming into the game, BU (5-5-3, 3-0-1 Patriot League) had averaged just over 12 shots per game. The Terriers had also totaled 44 shots in their previous three games, with 20 of those shots coming from a 1-1 draw with American University. Most recently, they scored four goals in a win against Loyola University Maryland.

At the start of the game, BU was showing more of the same on offense, generating scoring opportunities and pressuring the Crimson (5-6-1) back line. The hard work paid off early, as sophomore forward Christina Wakefield scored off a header from a free kick taken by junior defender Rachel Bloznalis in the ninth minute. It was Wakefield’s first goal of the season.

The Terriers continued to get good offensive looks in the first half, as they took 10 shots in the half, compared to the Crimson’s two. BU had plenty of opportunities to collect another goal before the end of the first frame, but failed to capitalize.

The closest the Terriers got to tallying another goal was in the 25th minute, when Bloznalis sent a corner kick into the box, which was headed by freshman midfielder Julianna Chen. The Milton native headed the ball towards goal, but Harvard goalkeeper Lizzie Durack reached up and tipped the ball over the goal at the last moment.

However, once the second half got underway and Harvard forward Margaret Purce beat junior goalkeeper Bridget Conway to tie the game in the 60th minute, all offensive momentum for the Terriers came to a halt. BU could not generate the same scoring chances they had in the first half, either because of missed lead passes, mishit crosses or just strong defense from the Crimson. The Terriers took only three shots during the second half.

“First half was great, second half was not good,” said BU coach Nancy Feldman in regards to her team’s offensive performance. “That’s not just the attackers, that’s the team. We defend as a team and we attack as a team and everyone has a responsibility both ways. We lost our composure, we lost our ability to get a hold of the ball and move it and share it, and we have to do that moving forward.”

Part of the reason the Terriers could not get a hold of the ball was the outstanding offensive play of Harvard’s starters in the second half. That cohesive talent was largely absent in the first half, as Harvard coach Ray Leone opted to sit five of his starters for the first 30 minutes of the game, including Purce, a United States U-20 National Team member. When Leone sent his starters into the game, the Terriers started sputtering on offense, failing to create shots.

Despite vast improvement on offense over the season, Feldman commented on her team’s struggles tonight.

“We’re better than we were at the beginning of the season,” Feldman said. “But the second half was like a half-step backwards. It’s easy when it’s going well, and when you lose it, you have to be very strong-minded, and very mature and composed to get it back, and we didn’t.

“Maybe we took it for granted a little bit because it was coming so easy the past couple of weeks,” Feldman added. “But it’s not easy, and you have to work for it. Tonight in the second half, we didn’t do a good job of working for it.”

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