Boston U. Edged By Wake Forest at NCAA Women's Soccer Championship

Boston U. Edged By Wake Forest at NCAA Women's Soccer Championship

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Courtesy of Boston University Athletic Communications

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass -- The Boston University women's soccer team fell, 2-1, to fourth-seeded Wake Forest on Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Newton Campus Soccer Field. Sophomore Mara Osher tallied the Terriers' lone and senior Christina Reuter made six stops in net. BU finishes its season with an 11-7-3 overall record.

Wake Forest struck first with a goal at 6:44, when Amy Smerdzinksi slid the ball past Reuter after receiving a pass inside the six-yard box from Samantha Germano.

The Demon Deacons held the one-goal advantage for the rest of the half and into the second stanza until Osher knotted the score at one at 49:10. Junior Meredith Beaton crossed it into the box and after the ball bounced around inside the box, Osher got on the end of it and slotted it in for her second goal of the season. The goal energized the squad and the large BU contingent, giving the Terriers added spark on the offensive front.

With the momentum swinging in BU's favor, Wake Forest stopped the rally six minutes later to take back the lead for good. After Reuter made an initial stop, Allie Sadow snagged the rebound and slipped it into the back of the lower right corner for the game-winner.

The Terriers provided some early pressure as freshman Lina Cords sent in a dangerous cross in the fifth minute of the match but it snuck through the crowded box and out of bounds.

BU had a golden opportunity at the 24:23 mark when sophomore Farrell McClernon sent a promising cross into the six-yard box that junior Jennifer Herman went running onto but Wake Forest's Lauren Morse came strongly off her line to cut it off.

With six minutes left in the first half, BU pulled out all the stops and pressed in the offensive third with back-to-back crosses that the Wake Forest defense was forced to clear out. The Demon Deacons took it down the field on the next play and Sarah Winslow unloaded a strike that Reuter dove to her right to punch out of danger.

After Wake Forest reclaimed its lead and with time running out in regulation, senior Lauren Basham made one last attempt on a near breakaway. McClernon sent Basham down the middle, she then controlled the pass and nailed a hard shot to the corner but Morse snagged the ball on a leaping save. The Terriers continued to press, sending Reuter high up into the midfield to push the line forward.

With less than a minute to go, Reuter sent a long pass up field to the forward line, however, the Demon Deacon's back line kept their form to cleared it out and preserved the win.

BU finishes with an 11-7-3 overall record after earning its sixth NCAA bid - third consecutive - and fifth America East title.