Ah, the dreaded penalty kick round. It may be the worst rule about soccer, because it's just so darn unpredictable. At that point, it's anybody's game, and it doesn't matter which team dominated on the field or had more shots on goal, because all that's wiped away. The only thing that remains is a one-on-one contest from a 12-yard range between the shooter and goalkeeper.

Once in a while, a sporting event has the ability to sweep the audience off its collective feet and take them on an emotional roller coaster that is just as likely to deposit them in a state of unbearable despair as it is to induce visions of ecstasy and glory. In these instances, finding words to describe what you just witnessed can, and in this case is, nearly impossible.

On the brink of elimination following 90 minutes of regulation play and two scoreless overtime periods, the Boston College women's soccer team pulled out a dramatic victory in penalty kicks, outscoring UC-Berkeley, 3-1, on Friday to advance to the third round of the NCAA tournament at Cagan Field on the Stanford campus.

The Boston College women's soccer team saw its season come to a disappointing conclusion in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, falling 2-0 to the top-seeded Stanford Cardinal for the third straight season.

Men's Soccer Earns No. 4 Overall NCAA Tourney Seed

The No. 8 Boston College men's soccer team (14-6-0) will begin NCAA tournament play next Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. in Newton. On Monday, the Eagles were awarded the nation's fourth overall seed. They will play the winner of Colgate and Rutgers after receiving a first-round bye.

The inexperienced Marist Red Foxes were no match for the expert Boston College women's soccer team in their debut NCAA tournament appearance. The Eagles have been in the tournament for nine straight seasons and ended Marist's short-lived postseason play Sunday afternoon with a 6-1 victory in Newton.

Eagles Advance To NCAA Second Round For 4th Straight Year

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.

Boston College's incredible run through the ACC men's soccer tournament came to a halt on Sunday afternoon, as the Eagles lost 3-1 to North Carolina in the championship game in Cary, N.C.  

Speed — it is an element of sports that can change the outcome of a game. A stolen base, a fast-break score, or an ankle-breaking sidestep. These are all aspects of speed, and a team with speed can be a worthy adversary. Fortunately for the Boston College men's soccer team, Diego Medina-Mendez has speed.

The freshman winger has become a mainstay in the Eagles' lineup, despite his lack of exposure to the quick pace of ACC play. Thus far, this inexperience hasn't stopped him.

As sophomore midfielder Gibby Wagner ran circles around a surprised UNC defense during a Thursday-night game in Newton, a reporter from The Boston Globe looked frantically through her notes before finally turning around and asking, "Who is number 10? She's definitely my new favorite player."

In early September, the then-No. 8 men's soccer team made the trip down to College Park, Md., to face a Terrapins team that was No. 2 in the nation. Maryland sent the Eagles back to Chestnut Hill with their first loss of the season, by an ugly 4-0 score.