Men’s Hockey vs. Quinnipiac, Friday (Icebreaker Tournament)
Casey Carreau stampeded down the ice, Boston College men’s hockey’s fate resting entirely on his shoulders. In one quick shot, he fired the puck through Quinnipiac goalie Yaniv Perets’ five-hole, and his team erupted in cheers as the Eagles secured a shootout victory in the first official game of the season.
The Eagles (1–0–1) began their 100th season on Friday night, facing off against Quinnipiac (1–0–1) during the first round of the Icebreaker Tournament. After a 2–2 score held through overtime, BC claimed the extra point on Carreau’s penalty shot.
The last time the Eagles were on the ice, they lost a heartbreaking game in the regional final against St. Cloud State to end their season. BC came out flying on Friday, with Colby Ambrosio netting a shot only 55 seconds into BC’s season to break the ice.
After losing a large part of their offensive line last year, the Eagles added 10 new members to their squad during the offseason. One notable pickup for the Eagles was graduate transfer Eric Dop, who was in goal for BC and recorded 31 saves on the night.
BC’s offense took advantage of transition defense, as Patrick Giles and Sam Sternschein skated up the ice for a 2-on-1 situation. Giles fired a shot at the Quinnipiac net, which was deflected by a Bobcat defender and maneuvered into the net, giving the Eagles a two-goal advantage.
In the second and third periods, however, Quinnipiac’s Ty Smilanic and Skyler Brind’Amour each found the back of the net, evening the score and forcing the game into overtime.
After a scoreless five minutes, the game went into a shootout. Eamon Powell answered a Quinnipiac goal, keeping his team alive and granting Carreau the opportunity to win it.
Men’s Hockey vs. Holy Cross, Saturday
After scraping out the shootout win against Quinnipiac, the Eagles secured a much more comfortable win in the second game of the Icebreaker Tournament with a 5–1 win over Holy Cross.
The Eagles have not faced the Crusaders since notching a 6–1 victory over Holy Cross in 2016 but showed from puck drop that their dominance over their in-state rivals had not skipped a beat. Brandon Kruse scored his first goal as an Eagle just 22 seconds into the game.
Marshall Warren added another just two minutes later, and Marc McLaughlin netted a third moments after that, as BC needed just over three minutes to build a commanding 3–0 lead.
The Crusaders only logged 19 shots on BC netminder Henry Wilder and scored their lone goal toward the end of the first period when BC had already racked up a 4–0 lead.
New faces showed out for the Eagles, as freshman Matt Argentina scored his first goal as an Eagle in the second period to put BC up 5–1 as well as registering an assist on Warren’s goal. Fellow freshman Connor Joyce also registered a pair of assists.
Volleyball vs. Notre Dame, Sunday, and vs. Louisville, Friday
After starting ACC play 2–1, the Eagles have struggled to keep their winning ways going through the conference slate and dropped a pair of matches over the weekend.
Notre Dame (7–8, 4–2 Atlantic Coast) swept BC (12–8, 2–4) in straight sets on Sunday, with set scores of 25–22, 25–15, and 25–22. BC was outhit .327 to .139 in the match and committed 23 errors to the Irish’s seven.
Sophomore libero Anna Murphy was busy in the three-set loss, leading all players with 20 digs, making it her sixth game of the season in which she has posted 20 or more digs. Sophomore setter Grace Penn added 20 assists in the loss.
Junior right-side Izzy Clavenna tied for the match lead with nine kills, while graduate captains Clare Naughton and Amaka Chukwujekwu contributed eight kills apiece. Aubrey Hamilton matched Clavenna with nine kills for the Irish, while Zoe Nunez posted a match-high 36 assists.
Louisville dispatched the Eagles in even quicker fashion on Friday, as the undefeated Cardinals romped BC in straight sets to the tune of 25–14, 25–12, and 25–10. BC registered a paltry .014 kill percentage as the Eagles struggled to make any headway against Louisville’s front line, and the Cardinals fought back with a monstrous .464 rate on attacks.
Field Hockey at Virginia, Saturday, and at Richmond, Sunday
After a hot start to the season, BC field hockey has faltered through the middle portion of its schedule, dropping games to both North Carolina and UMass in the past two weeks. Even with a tough weekend slate against No. 12 Virginia (7–5, 2–2 Atlantic Coast) and Richmond (4–9), BC (9–3, 1–2) returned to its early season form and secured shutout wins in both contests.
The Spiders have struggled this year, creating a welcome respite for a BC team that has faced a slew of top ACC opponents, and BC took full advantage with a 3–0 victory. Margo Carlin, Sky Caron, and Victoria Arra all notched goals for BC, and Richmond put just four shots on frame.
The Eagles predictably faced a much tighter test against the Cavaliers, as the two duked it out in a scoreless tie for all four periods, and BC scraped out a win three minutes into overtime thanks to a solo run by Sarah Johnson and a clean finish by Elizabeth Warner.
Women’s Soccer vs. Virginia, Thursday, and North Carolina, Sunday
Coming off four straight losses to ACC opponents, the Eagles (6–7–1, 0–6 Atlantic Coast) faced a tall test as they headed into a pair of weekend games against two of the top teams in the conference and in the country. Despite two close contests, the Eagles fell in both, moving to 0–6 in conference play.
Facing off against No. 5 North Carolina (10–2–2, 3–1-–2) on Sunday in Chestnut Hill, BC got on the board first in the 50th minute, as Jenna Bike made a slick move to free up some space on the right wing and whipped the ball in to Sam Smith, who connected for a one-time goal.
Despite mounting pressure toward the end of the second half, BC nearly held on for a 1–0 victory, but North Carolina finally broke through with just two minutes remaining. Emily Moxley picked the ball up off a corner and lofted a perfectly weighted ball over BC goaltender Wiebke Willebrandt. Julia Dorsey tapped it in on the far post to level the score.
The Tar Heels continued to control the play in overtime and showed the individual skill that has made them the class of college soccer for decades, as Maggie Pierce left Willebrandt no chance and curled a long shot into the top-right corner of the net for the game winner.
Although the score was less tight, the Eagles also battled on Thursday night against No. 2 Virginia (11–1–1, 4–0–1), resulting in a 3–0 defeat. Despite the mismatch, BC came out aggressive in the opening minutes and nearly scored in the first minute as Bike left a pass for Abby McNamara, who just missed the finish.
BC played lockdown defense for the majority of the first half, as Virginia controlled most of the ball. The only mishap came in the 33rd minute when Éabha O’Mahony was booked for bringing down a Cavalier in the box, and Diana Ordoñez converted from the spot to go up 1–0.
The second half was a different story on defense. BC’s defense crumbled on back-to-back corner kicks in the 57th and 60th minutes, and Alexa Spaanstra scored on both.
BC was unable to muster much offensively, as the Cavaliers regularly threw multiple bodies at BC leading scorer Ella Richards, a strategy that other ACC foes have also adopted in response to Richards’ stellar start to the season.
Men’s Soccer at Virginia, Friday
After notching a non-conference win against Northeastern earlier in the week, BC’s ACC struggles returned, as the Eagles (4–5–2, 0–3–2) returned to conference play and fell to Virginia (4–6–2, 1–4–0) by a 2–1 margin in a battle of ACC cellar dwellers.
BC got on the board quickly with a goal from Aidan Farwell in the fifth minute, but the Eagles could not hold onto the advantage. The Cavaliers tied the game up just 10 minutes after BC scored, as Leo Afonso picked up a rebound from BC goalie Brennan Klein and took advantage of the open net. Virginia took the lead in the 61st minute, as Afonso got free on the back post and headed home a lofted ball from Daniel Wright for the win.
Featured Image by Ikram Ali / Heights Editor
