Gray and foggy skies didn’t dampen Boston College men’s soccer’s spirit against Division III opponent Endicott on Monday night.
In their last home game of the season, the Eagles (4–6–4, 1–4–2 Atlantic Coast) played energetically, and a Stefan Sigurdarson hat trick paved the way for a 5–1 win over the Gulls (11–4–4, 6–1–1 Commonwealth), BC’s largest margin of victory this season.
BC dominated the game on all fronts. The Eagles controlled the midfield, stringing together passes and constantly switching the ball. BC varied its offense, attacking both directly through long balls and through crosses from its wingers.
Forty-five seconds into the game, Sigurdarson almost found the back of the net after trapping down a long ball with his chest, but he missed the ensuing shot.
Ted Cargill and Adrian Zenko dictated the match from the midfield, and the pair played off each other throughout the match. They controlled the pace of the game, sending long balls to kickstart BC’s attack and playing to the outsides to attack through the wings.
“I thought our midfield was really, really sharp on the ball,” BC head coach Bob Thompson said. “It was really important to keep playing at a fast pace and move the ball quicker.”
Despite controlling possession, the Eagles struggled to generate quality scoring opportunities early. Endicott’s defense stopped all six of BC’s corner kicks in the first half and seemed to gain confidence with every BC shot that landed high or wide.
It took BC 37 minutes to break the scoreless tie, and the shot that did so was nearly identical to Sigurdarson’s first attempt of the night. A sprinting Sigurdarson chested down a long ball from Christian Bejar and evaded Endicott’s defense. He slotted the ball to the back of the net to give the Eagles a 1–0 lead. The goal marked Sigurdson’s 10th of the season.
The Eagles scored again in the 46th minute. Amos Shapiro-Thompson scored from inside the box to extend the Eagles’ lead to 2–0. Sigurdarson headed the ball into the net just four minutes later off a header assist from Augustine Boadi.
In the 52nd minute, Cargill added to the tally with a curling shot from outside the box for the Eagles’ fourth goal in 15 minutes and second in two minutes. The goal marked Cargill’s second of the season.
“It’s just important to get other guys involved,” Thompson said. “I think it builds confidence within the group that more can help on the scoring.”
Less than a minute later, Endicott got on the scoresheet after a defensive mishap led to a BC own goal.
With its lead, BC played with a newfound calmness and confidence. The Eagles outshot Endicott 30–1 in the game.
Sigurdarson completed his hat trick in the 70th minute by tapping in a Tyshawn Rose pass. Thompson subbed him out of the game in the 71st minute, and he left the field at Newton Soccer Complex for the final time as the sixth-leading scorer in program history.
“He’s consistently scored his whole career and come up big for us,” Thompson said. “He had another really good night.”
