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Jillian Mastroianni saved the Boston College women's soccer team from an early exit in the first round of the ACC tournament with three crucial stops on penalty kicks after the Eagles and the Virginia Cavaliers played to a scoreless draw.
BC (16-2-1), which shared its first regular season conference title with Florida State after beating Wake Forest in overtime on Sunday, converted three of its five chances from the penalty spot. Virginia made two of its five penalties.
Cavalier keeper Chantel Jones kept her team alive with two straight saves on potential game-winning kicks. First, she stonewalled Eagle defender Alyssa Pember to force a fifth penalty. Then, ACC Freshman of the Year Victoria DiMartino had a chance to put the Eagles through to the semifinals with a conversion, but her left-footed shot was snared by Jones.
Jones was one-upped by Mastroianni, though. After stopping Virginia's second and fourth attempts, she lunged to her right and saved Meghan Lenczyk's shot on the decisive kick.
Virginia could have won the game in the waning moments of the first overtime when Mastroianni was caught out of position on a Lenczyk strike, but the shot ricocheted off the inside of the left post and out. Cavalier Colleen Flanagan had a chance to put her team ahead in the first half on a long-range shot that hit the crossbar.
The Eagles outshot the Cavaliers 12-10 in regulation, including a 6-5 edge in shots on target.
The subdued celebration that followed BC's victory suggests the Eagles have larger goals on their mind. They take to the pitch again on Friday against North Carolina in the tournament semifinals.
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