After inclement weather washed out Wednesday’s scheduled match, Boston College women’s soccer took the field under clear skies in Cambridge against crosstown rival Harvard. The Eagles entered the contest winners of three straight and looked to continue their roll.
It was the second of three consecutive matchups against Beanpot schools for BC. The Eagles look forward to these local rivalry games against these Boston schools for good reason. Since 2014, the Eagles are 9-1 against Northeastern, Harvard, and Boston University.
BC came out of the gates controlling possession and the pace of the match against the Crimson. BC had several of the few scoring opportunities in the half, but failed to convert. Junior Elysa Virella recorded her first shot of the season in the third minute. Sam Coffey continued her hot start to her freshman season, firing a game-high six shots, three of which were on goal. Sophomore Jenna Bike tallied three shots with two on goal as well, but the Eagles were held in check by Harvard goalie Danielle Etzel.
In the second half, the Eagles continued to dominate possession and generate scoring opportunities, to little avail. Although the Crimson had just one shot on goal all night, the team made it count. In the 69th minute, following a Harvard throw-in, Crimson senior Candy Janachowski booted a long pass down the field to junior Leah Mohammadi. After a few moves in the box in front of BC goalie Alexis Bryant, she found the top-right corner of the net from 15 yards out, giving Harvard a 1-0 lead. It was Mohammadi’s second goal of the season, and it was enough to give the Crimson a 1-0 win over the Eagles.
Harvard’s victory was their first in the series against BC (4-3) since 2002. The Eagles shut down Harvard (4-1) for the entire night, but they let one slip by and that was the difference. The story of the game was definitely BC’s inability to convert on scoring opportunities. The Eagles outshot the Crimson 14-4, including 6-1 with shots on goal. BC also had 10 corner kicks while holding Harvard to two. On the season, the Eagles have a nation-leading 73 corner kicks and have limited opponents to just 23, a demonstration of their aggressive offense that has been incapable of tallying goals. Harvard is by no means a mediocre team, but this is a game the Eagles would surely like to have back.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
