Eagles Rebound With Win

After suffering a heartbreaking loss at the hands of two penalty kicks against No. 1 North Carolina Thursday, the No. 6 Boston College women's soccer team (10-2, 2-2 ACC) responded by defeating North Carolina State (7-4-1, 2-2 ACC) 2-1 yesterday. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak; the Eagles lost their match against No. 5 Florida State before their loss to the Tar Heels.

About 15 minutes into the second half, Jill MacNeil entered the match on a BC corner kick. Hannah Cerrone, who takes almost all of the Eagles' corner kicks, sent the ball into the upper half of the box where nearly everyone was waiting. BC's Julia Bouchelle managed to get a head on it, directing it toward the goal; however, the ball was blocked and fell into the chaos of the crowded box. After being kicked around on attempted clears and ensuing blocks, the ball found its way to the feet of MacNeil, who one-timed a shot into the top right corner of the net for her first career goal, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead.

Not ready to fall victim to a big momentum swing, the Wolfpack grabbed possession of the ball in the 65th minute. After thwarting a brief attack by the Eagles, Alyson Santilli sent a long kick down the field. Paige Dugal sprinted down the field and took advantage of an out-of-position BC defense, receiving Santilli's offering a few yards outside the box. Briefly controlling the ball, Dugal ripped a shot from 24 yards out with a deceptive spin, knuckling it past goalkeeper Jillian Mastroianni into the top corner of the net and tying the game at one.

Freshman phenom Victoria DiMartino, who leads the team with 11 goals and 25 points, added to her totals in the 72nd minute. With the match still tied, DiMartino headed down the field with her customary two defenders in pursuit. Amy Caldwell, who earned her third consecutive start, crossed the ball to DiMartino, who maneuvered around the NC State back and fired a one-timer into the left corner to put the Eagles up 2-1. Refusing to let the win slip away, BC buckled down on defense and limited the Wolfpack's chances in the final 18 minutes, securing the victory. Victoria's decisive goal is her fourth game-winner of the season, which leads the team; she also led the team in shots with five on the day.

Kelly Henderson almost pushed the lead to two goals a few minutes later. Streaking down the field and dribbling past defenders, the senior midfielder-turned-back sent a shot from just outside the box, but it clanged off the left post and out of play.

Henderson, whom head coach Alison Kulik called "out of this world" against UNC, contributed in many other ways once again; though she did not score, she paced the BC defense and single-handedly stopped scoring chances for NC State. She also played all 90 minutes of the match and has not missed a minute of playing time in all 12 games this season.

The first 45 minutes offered no scoring for either team, though NC State had a golden opportunity 15 minutes into the match. Tanya Cain managed to get behind the BC defense and had a chance from seven yards out, but Mastroianni aggressively came out of the net and cut off much of the scoring window. Cain's shot sailed high over the net, ending the threat. By the end of the half, BC held a 7-2 shot advantage.

While the Eagles won by only a goal, they thoroughly dominated the match statistically. They outshot the Wolfpack 10-3 in the second half to give them a decisive 17-5 edge by the game's end, and the only shot on goal for the visiting team was Dugal's goal.

Outside of Victoria's five shots, BC received contributions from nine other players, including two shots from Gina DiMartino, Caldwell, and Bouchelle; five other Eagles recorded a shot apiece. Also, the Eagles registered an 8-3 advantage in corner kicks.

BC now has a week-long layoff before taking on the University of Virginia on Sunday at home, its longest break between games of the season. This well-deserved respite will allow the team to recover from nagging injuries, most notably Brooke Knowlton's ankle bruise, which she suffered against Miami. Until the game against the Wolfpack, Knowlton had come off the bench against Florida State University and the University of North Carolina.

Seven days of rest will also allow the Eagles to gear up for their final six games of the season, all of which come against conference opponents. Three of them - No. 18 Virginia, No. 9 Wake Forest, and No. 24 Maryland - are currently ranked in top 25. After rebounding from close losses to two top five teams with yesterday's victory over NC State, BC has created a bit of momentum for these final matchups.