The last time Boston College women’s soccer battled Notre Dame in the Holy War, the Fighting Irish dominated with a 3–0 victory on BC’s home turf.
On Thursday, the Eagles sought to come out on top on the road and snap their four-game losing streak. BC, however, continued to struggle offensively and failed to maintain control of possession or capitalize on numerous scoring opportunities, falling to No. 11 Notre Dame 3–1.
The Eagles have now tallied just two goals in their last five games and remain winless in ACC play.
BC head coach Jason Lowe declined to comment following the loss.
The Eagles, however, got off to a fierce start just minutes into the game. After Notre Dame’s goalkeeper Atlee Olofson blocked Emily Sapienza’s shot, the ball rolled just out to the right, which junior forward Ella Richards collected and promptly tapped into the back of the net to give BC a 1–0 advantage.
The sequence marked Sapienza’s first assist of the season.
BC came close to extending its lead in the 20th minute with two shots on target from Ava McNeil and one from Laura Gouvin in the 27th minute. The Eagles were consistently displaying crisp passing and control of possession and pace. They prevented Notre Dame from gaining any momentum in the first 30 minutes, limiting the Fighting Irish to only one shot on target in that span.
But after the 30-minute mark, the tides turned in favor of Notre Dame, with the Fighting Irish dominating control of possession, tightening their back line, and generating solid scoring opportunities. They produced four-straight scoring opportunities, none of which were successful. The fifth attempt, however, was, as Charlie Codd slipped the ball right past BC goalkeeper Wiebke Willbrandt to tie the game 1–1 at the 34:27 mark.
The score remained tied heading into halftime, and the goal marked the first of Codd’s career.
Notre Dame picked up right where they left off in the second half, passing into open space and creating scoring opportunities. BC’s back line remained resilient, blocking shots and intercepting aggressive passes that entered the penalty area, but could not generate shots offensively.
The Eagle were outshot 17–11 in the game.
BC’s offensive struggles were too much to overcome, as in the 71st minute, Notre Dame’s Ellie Ospeck broke through the back line and scored a streamer to give the Fighting Irish a 2–1 lead.
The goal jolted the Eagles back to life, and they reasserted control of pace and possession. Sydney Segalla had two golden opportunities to tie up the game in the closing minutes, but missed just wide from five yards out with less than six minutes left.
In total, BC finished with nine shots on target to Notre Dame’s six.
Wiebke, however, exited in the 76th minute after a collision with Notre Dame’s Morgan Roy, in which Roy was dealt a yellow card. Eva Nahas replaced Wiebke in goal for her second appearance of the season.
Despite BC’s dangerous attempts on goal in the final minutes, Maddie Mercade sealed Notre Dame’s victory with a 89th minute goal on Nahas, extending the Eagles’ losing streak to five.
