Retrievers, and Terriers, and Bearcats, oh my.
That will be the scene this weekend at Nickerson Field, as Boston University’s soccer field will be turned into a zoo for women’s soccer with six teams vying for the coveted America East Championship.
After finishing the season with a 5-2-1 conference record, the Bearcats have earned the No. 3 seed in the tournament. In past years, the third place team would garner a first round matchup at home. But this season the tournament has been reworked so that the first two rounds are hosted by the No. 1 seed, in this case, the Boston University Terriers.
The Bearcats will open up on Friday against the UMBC Retrievers (9-8-1, 3-4-1 AE) in a much-anticipated rematch. The two teams worked to a 1-1 draw in a highly controversial rain-shortened contest at West Gym Field.
Should the Bearcats defeat the Retrievers, they will move onto the second round on Sunday against the second-seeded Maine Black Bears (11-5-1, 6-1-1 AE). BU handed the Black Bears their only conference loss with a 1-0 victory on Maine’s home field earlier this season. They also defeated the Black Bears last year for the AE crown.
The other first round matchup will feature No. 4 Vermont (8-8-1, 4-3-1 AE) against No. 5 New Hampshire (8-7-2, 3-3-2 AE). The winner of this game (if Binghamton defeats UMBC) will take on top-seeded Boston University (11-4-4, 7-0-1 AE), a team that has yet to lose in conference play.
The championship will be hosted the following weekend at the highest remaining seed.
“I am confident we can go in as any seed and reel off three straight wins,” said head coach Jeff Leightman. “However we could also lose. This conference is so close, anyone can win this tournament.”