After Boston College field hockey recorded a 2–4 start to the season, head coach Kelly Doton made a change. She inserted goalkeeper Emily Gillespie into the starting lineup on Sept. 16, igniting a three-game win streak for the Eagles.
But that streak came to an end on Friday in a gritty road matchup against Syracuse. In a hard-fought defensive battle, the No. 15 Eagles (5–5, 2–1 Atlantic Coast) fell 3–0 to the No. 18 Orange (9–2, 2–1) on a fourth-quarter scoring barrage by Syracuse.
The Eagles found themselves in a difficult spot early, as Peyton Hale suffered an injury in pregame warmups that forced her out of the starting lineup.
The Eagles dominated possession for much of the first quarter while in Syracuse scoring territory. Despite a few scoring opportunities and one corner penalty, the Eagles failed to find the net.
BC has struggled to score all season, averaging 1.78 goals per game.
The Orange started to move the ball toward the end of the quarter, especially in transition, but similar to the Eagles, Syracuse couldn’t convert its first-quarter penalty-corner chance.
The Eagles lost possession with Hale’s return to the pitch in the second quarter, with most of the matchup being spent in the Eagles’ defensive end. Syracuse created chances, firing off two shots on goal, but Gillespie and a strong BC defense held Syracuse scoreless.
Gillespie continued her strong play in the second half, preventing Syracuse’s Charlotte de Vries from reaching the net on a shot to keep the game scoreless. The Orange won back-to-back penalty corners but couldn’t convert.
De Vries finally broke the tie with a backhanded shot that rifled past Gillespie into the top corner of the cage, putting the Orange up 1–0. The Orange had totaled 12 shots on goal up to that point.
The Orange didn’t stop there, though, as Joy Haarman beat Gillespie on a similar, high backhand shot to make it a 2–0 game.
BC couldn’t put anything together on offense, totaling only two total shots and one shot on goal.
The dagger was a Willemijn Boogert goal with three minutes left in the game that gave the Orange a three-goal lead, leaving the Eagles’ defense helpless after a strong first 45 minutes.
