As the rain poured down on Chestnut Hill Sunday afternoon, Boston College field hockey was creating a storm of its own in Bloomington, Ind. BC continually flooded the offensive end and showered the net with shots, but Noelle Rother stood strong against the storm. The Eagles fired an astonishing 19 shots, 10 of which were on goal. The offensive burst kept the Hoosiers on the defensive end, causing them to fire four shots. Only one of those had to be dealt with by Audra Hampsch. Ultimately, the Eagles fought hard, defeating Indiana, 2-0.
The Eagles (6-6, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) came out strong against the Hoosiers (7-7, 2-2 Big Ten) and within the first 12 minutes of the game, they had five offensive corners. IU’s defense remained tough and denied all five shots in order to keep it a scoreless game. BC wore down the Hoosier defense and scored 25 minutes into the game. Lucy Lytle received a pass from Kaitie Fink at the stroke spot. Right in front of the net, Lytle chipped the ball high past the goalkeeper to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
The second half was quiet on the scoring front. Although the Eagles continued to bombard the net with shot after shot, Rother continued to deny each attempt that was made. BC kept sending quality shots toward the net hoping that Rother would finally be caught off-guard.
With 10 minutes remaining, Fink sent the ball toward Rother. She made the save, but Brooke Matherson was there and made the rebound off the goalie’s pads by flicking the ball into the center of the net. The Hoosiers could not put any offensive action together, and the Eagles walked off the field with a 2-0 victory.
On Friday, the Eagles headed down to Louisville, Ky. to face the No. 8 Cardinals (10-3, 1-3). Almost eight minutes into the game, BC was awarded a corner penalty, allowing it to strike first. Eryn McCoy fired a shot on goal and Frederique Haverhals sent it home, giving the Eagles a 1-0 lead early in the matchup. Toward the end of the first half, McCoy attacked again. She deflected Alessandra Miller’s pass towards the net, sending the ball right over Aiyesha McFerran’s shoulder. After scoring her 80th point, this goal launched McCoy into BC’s top-10 all-time scorers.
With a 2-0 lead, the Eagles had some room to breathe, but they could not relax. Top teams do not stop fighting until the buzzer sounds. The Cardinals struggled to fire shots on Audra Hampsch, but they succeeded in the final two minutes of the first half after a 2-on-1 opportunity. With a score of 2-1, it was still any team’s game.
Throughout the second half, Louisville tried to tie the game and send it into overtime, but Hampsch successfully saved both of the two shots she saw. With a strong goalie in the net, it was time for the Eagles to go on the offensive end and seal the game. Only eight minutes remained in the game when McCoy inserted the ball into the circle. Lytle saw an opening and fired the ball from the middle of the circle past McFarren. BC’s 3-1 victory proved that a top-10 team and the nation’s No. 1 goalie were no match for these Eagles.
Featured Image by Lucius Xuan / Heights Staff
