The women’s soccer team opened Patriot League play on Sept. 18 with an impressive 2-0 win over league-favorite Boston University. Bison goals came from Maddie Mulford ’18 and Alexis Gannon ’17.

Mulford scored in the 20th minute on a strong follow-up on her initial shot, which was blocked by a Boston defender.

The Terriers out-shot the Bison 11-4 in the second half and 16-8 in the contest, but the defense, led by Jessica Ratner ’17 in goal, was up for the challenge. Ratner had seven saves in the win and recorded her 19th career shutout.

In the 72nd minute, Boston came close to equalizing the score, but defender Jackie Ham ’18 cleared the deflected shot off the goal line to keep the Terriers scoreless.

As time grew short, the Terriers pushed numbers onto their offensive half, firing a flurry of shots but leaving their back line vulnerable. In the final minute, Kendall Ham ’18 connected with Gannon to take advantage of a two-on-one breakaway for the Bison’s second goal. Gannon finished her third shot of the afternoon to seal the win with only 11 seconds left on the clock.

With Boston being named the league favorite going into the season after beating the Bison 1-0 in the Patriot League Championships in 2015, the win was instrumental in declaring the Orange and Blue a serious contender.

With the win, the Bison move to a 7-0-1 record for the year, improving on their record start. They are also unbeaten in their last 12 home games.

The team’s next game is at Holy Cross on Sept. 24.