The result of Boston College field hockey’s game against Syracuse on Friday afternoon mirrored the weather for BC: gray and gloomy. The Eagles saw their undefeated start slip away in their seventh game, just their first in ACC competition.
With both teams ranked inside the top 20 in the country—the Eagles at No. 3 and the Orange at No. 17—the Eagles (6–1, 0–1 Atlantic Coast) had their work cut out for them, and Syracuse (4–2, 1–0) pulled out a 3–1 win to quiet BC for the first time this season.
The goal that really put the game away for the Orange occurred in the third quarter, when Quirine Comans painted the bottom right corner of the net off a rebound to put the Orange up 3–0. BC added a lone goal in the fourth, but the game was already out of reach.
Despite a lopsided final score, BC showed glimpses of why it was undefeated entering the matchup, including holding Syracuse scoreless on its three penalty corners.
“It’s tough—the elite teams are scoring one out of six or one out of five [penalty corners] so we had some opportunities that just didn’t go our way tonight,” BC head coach Kelly Doton said.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Orange first struck on a long aerial pass to senior midfielder Claire Cooke as she streaked down the sideline, who then dished a strong pass to Orange forward Charlotte de Vries. She drew BC goaltender Jonna Kennedy out of the net and deposited the ball just out of Kennedy’s reach to take a 1–0 lead.
Syracuse’s second goal came on an intercepted pass by forward Tess Queen, as she stuck her stick out and just caught a pass between two Eagles in the back half. Queen then proceeded to dump the ball right into the circle, and sophomore Florine van Boetzelaer jumped on the loose ball and fired it into the Eagles’ net.
The Eagles had their chances, but the story of the game for BC was missed opportunities on the offensive end. BC forward Nell Webber forced several turnovers that the Eagles could not capitalize on, though they produced several quality chances.
In the first quarter, Webber picked a ’Cuse defender’s pockets on back-to-back plays, the second of which led to a shot that just barely sailed high. The Eagles also failed to convert on any of their four penalty corners, including a key one with nine minutes left in the contest, which would have cut it to a one-goal deficit in crunch time.
Kennedy came up big in each of her five saves for the Eagles, making several acrobatic attempts to thwart the Orange attack.
The Eagles got one back just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter, as Margo Carlin deked Syracuse goalie Brooke Borzymowski to put it in the back of the net, but it proved too little, too late for the Eagles.
“I think they’re just a really good team, and sometimes losses can lead to greater things down the road, and that’s what we’re gonna utilize this game for,” Doton said.
Featured Image by Maria Ringes / Heights Staff
