“Seventy minutes of hockey.”

This phrase has been constantly on the lips of Yale field hockey players this season. When the Bulldogs have won big games, they have played solidly throughout the game, and when they have lost, it has often been a result of second half lulls in intensity. On Saturday, it was once again a tale of two halves.

After dominating Boston University (8-9) for the first half of Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs faded in the second stanza, as forward Jane Rogers led the Terriers to a 5-3 victory.

“I don’t know why or how, but our mentality changed [from the first to second half],” captain Caroline Thompson ’02 said. “There wasn’t a sense of urgency.”

Yale (7-8) started the game strong, scoring three goals in the first 13 minutes. Erin Tennyson ’02 gave the Bulldogs the lead with a goal at 34:07. But Rogers quickly answered at 31:07 with the first of her three goals to even the score at 1-1.

The Bulldogs offense swiftly struck back as Tovia Martirosian ’02 scored goals at 25:31 and 22:50 for a 3-1 lead. Jana Halfon ’04 and Sarah Driscoll ’05 assisted on her second goal, which came off a penalty corner.

Yale ended the first half having dominated a strong BU team, outshooting the Terriers 11-4.

Martirosian attributed Yale’s first half dominance to the team’s ability to control Rogers, BU’s top scorer. Head coach Ainslee Lamb assigned Martirosian and Driscoll, both of whom play in the center middle, to mark Rogers. For most of the game, Driscoll covered Rogers one on one.

“Sarah took [Rogers] out for most of the game,” Martirosian said. “She had the best game on our team.”

Despite Driscoll’s play, Rogers proved too much for the Bulldogs, scoring two second half goals to rally the Terriers.

The Terriers came out strong to start the second half, and Whitney Peabody opened scoring with a goal at 29:18, cutting Yale’s lead to one goal.

Ten minutes later, BU was awarded a penalty stroke on a questionable call. Rogers took full advantage of the opportunity and beat goalie Krissy Nesburg ’04 to knot the score at 3-3. Having seen their two goal lead evaporate, the Bulldogs were on the defensive the remainder of the game.

At 13:16, Peabody scored her second goal of the game at and gave the Terriers a 4-3 lead. Rogers capped off the scoring at 11:05 with her third goal.

Although Thompson credited Rogers’ performance, she said that she believed the Bulldogs did not play with enough intensity in the second half.

Many players said that they felt a great deal of frustration with Yale’s second half collapse, but they stressed the team’s resiliency. If the Bulldogs win their last two games against Princeton and Brown, they will likely move on to the ECAC tournament with a 3-4 Ivy League record.

“I do not sense frustration on this team,” Martirosian said. “We know that the season is not over.”

But defeating Princeton Tuesday night will be no easy task. Only two teams — No. 2 Maryland and No. 10 Penn State — have managed that feat this year.

Still, the Bulldogs have confidence in their ability to play a full 70 minutes.

“If we play both halves the way we played the first half against BU, we win tomorrow,” Martirosian said.