Boston College Crushes Overmatched Marist

The Boston College women's soccer team opened the NCAA tournament with a bang on Sunday, rolling to a 6-1 victory over Marist in Newton and advancing to the second round for the fourth year in a row.

The Eagles controlled the pace of the game early, threatening several times and preventing Marist from attempting a single shot on goal for the first 20 minutes of play. Junior Victoria DiMartino started the scoring onslaught for the Eagles in the 22nd minute, blasting a shot inside the near post from a difficult angle to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead. DiMartino knew how important her early goal was in helping her team gain momentum.

"The first goal of a game is very important," she said. "To come out in the first 20 minutes and get the goal helped us settle down and get some pressure off our backs."

BC struck again three minutes later, when senior Kristie Mewis scored off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box, bending her shot around the wall and into the left corner of the net. Sophomore Gibby Wagner demoralized the Marist defense right before the end of the half, weaving through multiple defenders in the center of the field and finishing a powerful left-footed shot to give the Eagles a 3-0 lead at the break.

After head coach Alison Foley replaced goalkeeper Jillian Mastroianni in the second half, Marist quickly took advantage, as Kathryn Hannis lobbed a header over the hands of backup keeper Jessica Mickelson. However, senior Julia Bouchelle responded with a goal off an assist from senior Stephanie Wirth with 32 minutes left in the game. Gibby Wagner tallied her second goal of the game when she cleaned up a loose ball in the box and snuck a shot past goalkeeper Andrea Wicks. Freshman Stephanie McCaffrey ended the scoring spree for the Eagles when she slipped a shot inside the near post, giving BC a 6-1 victory.

Foley was pleased with the way her team capitalized on scoring opportunities, an area that has been a problem for the Eagles throughout most of the season.

"We worked a lot on our finishing and creating numbers forward, and we did a really good job of that today," she said. "We've had some great opportunities in the second half of the season but our finishing hasn't been where we wanted it to be."

The Eagles dominated every aspect of the game on Sunday, outshooting Marist 18-6 and taking seven corner kicks while preventing the Red Foxes from attempting a single corner. BC also earned the opportunity to rest some of its starters late in the game, which will help the Eagles later in the tournament. The victory also helped them gain some confidence following a disappointing loss in the first round of the ACC tournament.

With the win, BC advances to the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Eagles will travel to Palo Alto, Calif. to take on UC-Berkeley Friday night. Foley is determined to not look too far ahead and help her team stay focused on the next game.

"We always take one game at a time, so we haven't even talked about the next game yet because we were focused on Marist," Foley said. "We'll prepare for California exactly like we would for any other game and any other opponent."

The Eagles are exactly where they want to be entering the second round of the NCAA tournament. They are playing their best soccer at the most critical point of the season, and they are completely focused on achieving their goal of a second straight appearance in the College Cup.

With an experienced senior class and younger players stepping up to provide a needed spark on offense, BC is a dangerous team that is poised to make a run in this tournament. The Eagles hope that they are able to continue the momentum from their opening round game as they head west in pursuit of their ultimate goal of a national title.