Sophomore Rebecca Beyer and senior Nicole Soules supplied the offense and sophomore Jessica Clinton made 10 saves as top-seeded Boston University defeated second-seeded Hartford, 2-0 at Nickerson Field, to win its second-straight America East Women’s Soccer Championship. The Terriers, 14-5-1, receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship and await the tournament selections Monday at 3 p.m.
Boston University broke a scoreless tie when sophomore Lesley Garvey lofted a ball over the defense and found Beyer, who dribbled in alone and blasted a 15-yarder past Hartford goalkeeper Anne-Lise Nilssen into the upper right corner at 35:14 for her ninth goal of the season.
Soules made it 2-0 when she collected a pass from Melissa Shulman and fired a shot from 12 yards into the upper right corner by Nilssen, who made three saves. It was Soules eighth goal of the year.
The Hawks, 15-5-0, enjoyed a 20-8 advantage in shots, but could not solve Clinton, who was named to the all-championship team.
Terrier senior sweeper Megan Cross, who led a defense which did not yield a goal in 196:13 in the semifinals and championship game, was named the championship’s Most Outstanding Player.
All-Championship Team: Michelle Thornton, New Hampshire; Yasmin Alter, Towson; Charity Schmitt, Hofstra; Janine Cappello, Hofstra; Sara Wilson, Delaware; Ginna Lewing, Delaware; Katharina Lindner, Hartford; Jeanette Akerlund, Hartford; Siv Skard, Hartford; Megan Cross, Boston University; Allison Merkle, Boston University; Jessica Clinton, Boston University. Most Outstaning Player: Cross.
1 2 Final
Hartford (15-5-0) 0 0 -- 0
Boston U. (14-5-1) 1 1 -- 2
Scoring
BU-Rebecca Beyer (Lesley Garvey) 35:14
BU-Nicole Soules (Melissa Shulman) 57:23
Shots: Hartford 20, Boston U. 8
Saves: Hartord (Anne-Lise Nilssen, 3); Boston U. (Jessica Clinton, 10)
Corners Kicks: Hartford 4, Boston U. 2