Just two days after a comfortable victory over Quinnipiac University, Boston College field hockey traveled to Albany, N.Y., ready for a matchup against the State University of New York at Albany. But while the No. 12 Eagles had enjoyed an easy win against the Bobcats, it was considerably harder against the No. 18 Great Danes. It took them two full halves and two overtimes to seal the deal, with Caroline McGovern eventually netting the game-winner to give BC a 2-1 victory.
The Eagles (2-0) started the goal-scoring early, sneaking one by Albany (0-2) in the sixth minute of play. Just over five minutes in, BC took a penalty corner, with Alesandra Miller slotting the ball toward her teammates. The Eagles failed to capitalize on the corner, but would score less than a minute later. Team captain Frederique Haverhals managed to send the ball to Lucy Lytle, who sent it past Great Dane goalkeeper Melissa Nealon. With that, BC held a 1-0 advantage over Albany just minutes into play.
Just a few minutes later, the Eagles had another set of opportunities, but could not capitalize. First, Jaime Natale attempted a shot, but the ball was blocked by Albany. A penalty corner led to a shot attempt from Cassidy Atchison, but her attempt was also blocked. Later, on a penalty corner, Atchison found Haverhals open, but her shot was also unsuccessful.
The Eagles had another good opportunity 20 minutes into the half, when Lytle took a penalty stroke shot on Nealon. Unlike in her last shot attempt, however, Lytle failed to get the ball past Nealon, who secured a save and preserved Albany’s chances.
Albany’s chances would be boosted less than five minutes later, when Katie MacCallum snuck a ball past Sarah Dwyer to even up the score.
For the rest of the first half, BC tested Nealon with several shots, but failed to regain the lead. At halftime, the score stood tied at one apiece.
This pattern continued for much of the second half. After outshooting Albany 9-2 in the first half, BC managed only four shots throughout the entire second half, compared to the Great Danes’ three. Even so, three of BC’s four shots were on frame, forcing Nealon to make saves, while none of Albany’s shots actually forced Dwyer to record a save.
Each team fielded seven players for the duration of overtime. The first overtime period, consisting of 15 minutes, saw BC record three shots and play tough defense, preventing the Great Danes from recording a single shot. Even so, the Eagles failed to score, sending the game into double overtime.
From the start of the second overtime, BC once again held the advantage, creating more chances for itself to score while tightly defending Albany. Less than three minutes into overtime, Natale attempted a shot, but Nealon secured the ball, denying her the game-winning goal. McGovern then took two straight shots, with Nealon saving one and the other sailing wide of the goal. Nealon managed another set of consecutive saves after denying Natale again and then saving her second penalty stroke shot of the game, this time from Haverhals.
In the 91st minute, MacCallum managed a shot on Dwyer—Albany’s only shot of either halftime period—but Dwyer handled the shot, securing the save and giving possession back to the Eagles. Less than a minute later, Ymke Rose Gote found McGovern open, who sent a shot flying past Nealon to give BC a hard-earned victory.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
