No. 17 Boston College field hockey held its Senior Night against No. 13 Wake Forest on Friday, and fittingly, the Eagles’ seniors led the way in their final game at the Newton Field Hockey Complex, accounting for both of BC’s goals.
Prior to the game, the Eagles (6–8, 2–2 Atlantic Coast) honored seniors Milagros Arteta, Margo Carlin, Darcy Clement, Kendall Hanlon, Lois Lekawael, Autumn Littlefield, and graduate student Sarah Johnson. Despite goals from Hanlon and Carlin, the Eagles fell to Wake Forest 4–2.
“Senior game is alway tough,” BC head coach Kelly Doton said. “As I always tell these guys, you know, when they are freshmen, four years goes by pretty quickly. This group was really special and still is. They are great field hockey players, but they’re just better people, and I love coaching them.”
The Demon Deacons (12–4, 4–1) got on the scoreboard quickly as Brooke McCcuskter scored within the first four minutes of the match off a penalty corner. Wake Forest dominated the first, recording six shots on goal while the Eagles tallied none.
In the second quarter the Eagles came alive following back-to-back penalties against the Demon Deacons. On BC’s second penalty corner, Arteta sent a shot flying into the net for an unassisted goal.
After the Eagles recorded a penalty themselves, they marched back down the field, and Hanlon sent another shot soaring past Wake Forest goaltender Ellie Todd, handing BC a 2–1 lead. The Demon Deacons didn’t remain quiet though and Sky Caron—who’s playing for Wake as a graduate student after four years on the Eagles’ roster—tied it at 2–2 before both teams entered halftime.
Both teams equally controlled possession throughout the third quarter with only one shot on goal through the first 11 minutes of the quarter. BC students began to fill the bleachers, though, supporting the Eagles on Senior Night and rallying behind their team.
But Wake Forest quickly silenced the cheers as the Demon Deacons’ Hannah Maxwell scored an unassisted goal putting Wake up 3–2.
The Eagles looked to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, but Wake Forest wasted no time sealing the game, as Maxwell extended the Demon Deacons’ lead to 4–2.
The Eagles regained control six minutes into the final period, but were unable to convert on any of their shot attempts, and the clock ran out.
“I think we kind of shot ourselves in the foot with some of those turnovers and those fast breaks that I think we could have controlled just a little bit differently,” Doton said. “But, that’s the sport—, that’s just how it goes.
The Eagles have two more games on their schedule ahead of postseason play, and Doton hopes to build up some momentum heading into the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
“You know we still had some really great moments of great hockey,” Doton said. “They have the potential—, it’s there, it’s just, we keep using the word consistency. They just have to do it more consistently, and you know, we’ve been growing throughout the season. … Anything can happen.”
