As she settled in as the new head coach of the Boston University women’s hockey team last year, Tara Watchorn took a hands-on approach to creating a new culture for the program.
She established a blueprint for the season, broken into five detailed phases, and emphasized offensive structure in preseason practices. She was prepared for her opportunity with the program — and she wanted to take full advantage.
But after a year behind the bench, Watchorn is taking a step back with a new strategy: “Let it be theirs.”
“Mentor them on how to take the lead,” she explained, “but ultimately let them lead the way on what they want for it and just help hold that standard for them.”
Last year’s 14-18-3 season was a building block. Many, including Watchorn and captain Tamara Giaquinto, have called it the “foundation.” But the coach said she wants her team to “elevate our ownership” of this season as the Terriers look to move the program a step forward.
Watchorn said she also wants to see BU improve its consistency. When the Terriers played well last year, they “really played well,” as Watchorn put it. The team recorded two wins over Boston College and played several competitive games against ranked Northeastern and UConn squads.
But poor efforts balanced out those benchmark performances. Holy Cross, with a 4-20-3 Hockey East record, still went 3-1-0 against the Terriers and eliminated BU in the first round of the conference tournament. Losses to Minnesota State Mankato (13-25-0) and Harvard (5-23-2) were other significant blemishes.
Watchorn said she believes the team will forge a path to consistency through its practice habits.
“When we take pride in how we show up every day in our preparation, we’re going to see that consistency in our performance throughout the year,” she said. “That’s what I want for our group.”
One key reason for last year’s inconsistency was a lack of goal-scoring in key games. Scoring just three goals in four games, the Terriers lost all of their matchups against Northeastern — two in overtime. BU also averaged just 1.75 goals a game in its four matchups with Holy Cross, the second-worst defensive team in Hockey East last year.
On paper, the Terriers got weaker on the goal-scoring front, losing last year’s top two goalscorers in Lacey Martin (14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points) and Catherine Foulem (11-11-22). Several other key offensive contributors departed through the transfer portal — including Andi Calderone (3-8-11), Brooke Disher (3-8-11) and former captain Madison Cardaci (2-1-3).
The Terriers had the second-most players enter the portal of any team in the country, according to The Rink Live.
“At the end of the day, we want players that want to be at BU and want to be a part of this vision,” Watchorn said, adding that she is “really excited” for the incoming crop of freshmen and incoming transfers.
The group of transfers is highlighted by forward Riley Walsh, who transferred after leading Union College in scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists. From the portal, the Terriers also added forward Lindsay Bochna, who tallied eight goals and 18 points at Providence College last year, and Maeve Carey, a staunch defensive presence who also had the second-most penalty minutes in the country last season with 71.
This year, Watchorn brought in a batch of freshmen she recruited herself, which she said has added a level of “initial trust” in the player-coach relationship.
The class includes forward Lola Reid, who scored 36 goals last year at powerhouse prep school Shattuck-St. Mary’s. Another, Kaileigh Quigg, tallied 28 points in 29 games in the Ontario Women’s Hockey League. Keira Healey, the younger sister of junior forward Sydney Healey, is another name to watch.
Watchorn likes what she’s seen so far from the group — especially their physical approach to the game.
“I really just feel like they’re gamers in terms of wanting to win every battle, want to win every minigame in practice, want to win obviously every game we play,” she said.
Fans got a glimpse of that spirit during the Terriers’ 4-1 exhibition win on Sept. 20 against Concordia University, the defending Canadian U Sports national champions. Reid scored a goal, and Keira Healey and Quigg had encouraging debuts.
Both goalies, senior Callie Shanahan and sophomore Mari Pietersen, looked solid in that scrimmage, too. Watchorn indicated that Shanahan will be the primary netminder, but that she’ll be part of a “one-two punch” with Pietersen.
As the season opener on Oct. 1 draws closer, the team has continued to rely on its new player-driven culture in preparation. Senior forward Liv Haag has noticed it manifest at practices and workouts.
The coaching staff has a baseline set of rules and expectations for the group, Haag said, but the rest is up to the players.
The coaches don’t require the team to get to practices and lift sessions until the scheduled start time, but the players have set their own expectations for each other, like arriving early to those commitments.
“We hold each other accountable,” Haag said. “We’ve got a good thing going. Let’s just say it that way.”
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