When Cornell’s Ava Laden struck a cross-pitch pass to her teammate Reinna Gabriel, Boston College women’s soccer was stuck in a perilous position. The nearest BC defender was many feet away and Garbiel was approaching the box with the ball between her feet.
Gabriel launched the ball with her right foot and with some treacherous spin the ball was in a perfect place to sneak into the bottom-right corner of the goal.
But BC goalie Wiebke Willebrandt didn’t let that happen.
Blasting off the turf and reaching with her left hand, Willebrandt got enough of the ball to push it past the goalpost and out of danger.
In a game where BC had a quality offensive showing, its defense won the game for the Eagles 3–2 against Cornell, with their goalies anchoring their defense.
BC started out each half with a strong offensive attack that led to three quick goals over the course of the game. BC’s first goal came in the sixth minute of the first half, when Emily Sapienza received a throw-in, made one defender faceplant, and ran the ball past two others. Upon receiving Sapienza’s pass, Ella Richards struck the ball with her left foot and bounced it off the torso of Cornell’s Natalie Medugno for the Eagles’ first goal.
The second half started off in similar fashion, with BC controlling the ball in Cornell’s half of the field. This led to several BC chances, and in the 59th minute, the Eagles rode a counter attack to their second goal in the match, where they converted a 2-on-1 opportunity.
BC’s third goal came in the 65th minute when Georgina Clarke received a throw-in and threaded a pass through multiple Cornell defenders to Paige Peltier, who curled a shot into the bottom-right of the goal to clinch herself a brace.
While three goals were enough offensively to clinch the win for the Eagles, their defense prevented multiple Cornell goals and potentially changed the outcome of the match. Willebrandt’s first save of the match set the tone for the Eagles, and after that, they rejected almost everything that came their way.
The 24th minute saw another save from Willebrandt, who rejected a shot from Cornell’s Laken Gallman. Gallman fired the ball into the top-center section of the goal, and Willebrandt’s effort to leap up and make a play on the ball nudged the ball just enough to hit the crossbar and bounce away.
Even when Willebrandt exited the game with an injury after the first half ended, her replacement Olivia Shippee was more than adequate. Shippee made a daring grab during a Cornell corner kick to take away a potential opportunity for the Cornell offense.
And while Cornell managed to score two goals, the Eagles’ defense and keepers were enough to push BC ahead. Willebrandt and Shippee combined for five saves, with three and two saves respectively.
Peltier scored two goals to lead the way for the Eagles offensively. The Eagles saw three different players—Sydney Segalla, Sapienza, and Clarke—contribute an assist
