On the day after Halloween, with a little bit of snow on the ground at the beginning of the game, rain at the end, and no fans to cheer, Boston College women’s soccer finished its regular season with a 0-3 loss to Virginia Tech at home on the Newton soccer field. While the Hokies secured their spot in the ACC Women’s Soccer Championship, the Eagles have struggled to pull out a win all season, ending with a 1-7 record.
Jenna Bike, Sam Smith, Sonia Walk, Samantha Agresti, and Jill Jennings all fired shots on goal but came away fruitless every time. Allie Augur, in goal for the Eagles, saved four shots on goal while letting up three from Virginia Tech. The game was truly lost in the second half, as Emma Steigerwald, Molly Feighan, and Emily Gray each tallied a goal for the Hokies in the second 40 minutes of the game.
Despite the scoring all coming in the second half, Virginia Tech pressured Augur early. Between the fourth and the fifth minute, Steigerwald and Sydney Ash both fired at Augur, but Augur saved the former’s kick, and the latter’s went wide.
BC first generated some pressure in the 12th minute, when a BC throw-in resulted in Jennings firing on goal, which the Hokies blocked.
Much of the first half went back and forth, and after a Virginia Tech goal in the 14th minute, the game became very back and forth. Smith eventually found the ball at her feet and subsequently missed her first of her three shots on the night. She went to goal again in the 28th minute, once again to no avail.
Despite pressure from Steigerwald, Gray, and Karlie Johnson, Augur saved two near-goals in the first half.
Augur and Virginia Tech’s netminder Alia Skinner remained strong in the first half, sending the two teams into halftime without a point on the board.
The Eagles emerged from the locker room with a renewed offensive attack, and shortly after halftime, Agrestri had a chance in the box off a corner kick, but her shot went wide.
In the 56th minute, Bike—named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27—fired a shot from the top of the goal box, and a diving Skinner got in front of the ball to keep the score knotted at zero.
The game soon got out of hand for the Eagles, as within a minute and a half, Virginia Tech’s Tori Powell took two shots on Augur. Soon after, a goal kick from BC resulted in Steigerwald’s goal, opening the scoring for the Hokies.
In a fast-paced transition after Walk missed a shot, Virginia Tech took the ball down the field in the 65th minute, and Augur was able to save a shot from Powell. In the 66th minute, though, she failed to block Gray’s shot, putting the Hokies up by two.
Shortly after a throw-in by the Eagles in the 77th minute, Virginia Tech’s Allyson Brown regained possession of the ball and shot, missing high.
Feighan, subbed in at the 61st minute, secured the win for Virginia Tech with the final goal of the game just 12 minutes later.
This shortened season has not been a walk in the park for the Eagles, as they were outscored by their opponents 15 to eight. The Eagles’ only win this season came at Syracuse, with a final score of 3-1 over the Orange. The Eagles, ranked No. 11 out of 13 teams in the ACC, have matched up against top-ranked North Carolina, Louisville, Pitt, Duke, Syracuse, and Virginia.
Featured Image Courtesy of BC Athletics
