As it turns out, Alison Foley's squad won't be the only Boston College women's soccer team competing in a national tournament this weekend.
Beginning today, the BC women's soccer club will compete through Saturday in the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association (NIRSA) Tournament, held in Tempe, Ariz., and includes the top 16 club teams in the country. In order to get to the round of four, BC will have to win its bracket, which consists of Virginia, Dayton, and Arizona.
The team finished its regular season by beating Connecticut, a game in which BC scored twice in the final minutes to put the game out of reach.
Leading BC is a trio of upperclassmen: Meg Griffin, Alison Hayden, and Carolyn Ward, all in their last year at the Heights.
Griffin has been stellar in goal, guiding them to an 11-2-2 record. Helping her is Ward, who has anchored the defense all year, while forward Hayden has found the back of the net more times than anyone else on the team.
Behind the seniors is a crop of underclassmen keeping the future bright for the club. Sophomore midfielder Kathryn Egan is one of the main reasons Hayden has been able to score as easily as she has.
Emily MacNeil has been equally impressive in her second year on the Heights, often playing close to the entire game. Classmate Tien Tran can create a scoring opportunity from almost anywhere on the field.
Ward credits the team's success in part to its coach Adam Malpocher, citing his incredible knowledge and understanding of the game and "his willingness to push us hard at practice."
But, despite the depth and experience, the team realizes the tournament will no doubt be an uphill battle. It has been already - the team needed to raise money to fund its trip.
"With our passing skills and our speed, we're hoping to make it all the way," said Ward.
The team is competing in the tournament for the first time; any success is a great achievement.
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