Just 1:40 into No. 17 Boston College field hockey’s matchup against No. 4 Maryland, the Terrapins had already secured a 1–0 lead over the Eagles.
Once Ella Gaitan scored for the Terps, Maryland never looked back and only extended its lead against the No. 17 Eagles in the highly-anticipated Big Ten and ACC matchup.
In BC’s (2–1) first loss of the 2024 season, Maryland (3–0) controlled possession and limited the Eagle’s scoring opportunities, ultimately taking down the Eagles 2–0.
“I feel like we allowed our mistakes today to create opportunities for Maryland,” BC head coach Kelly Doton said. “We can’t do that against really good teams.”
BC’s first scoring opportunity came when the Eagles received a corner 5:34 into the tilt. With Yani Zhong swiftly pushing the ball toward Elisa Brauel-Jahnke, it seemed as if BC might tie up the score.
But the Eagles failed to convert on the play, as Maryland’s Alyssa Klebasko made a diving save for the block—extending the Terps’ ability to shut down any BC offensive attack.
“I think at moments we played with pace [and] we had opportunities inside the Attack 25, but it’s just that Maryland’s defense was very good,” Doton said. “We didn’t get a lot of goal-scoring opportunities once inside the attacking lines.”
For the rest of the first half, substitution after substitution, BC couldn’t find the right collection of players to end its offensive woes. Even though the Eagles were only down by a one-goal deficit entering halftime, its performance in the first two frames was lackluster.
By the tone of the game, it appeared that the Terps should have been leading by several goals.
Compared to the seven shots that Maryland tallied within the first thirty minutes of play, BC had launched only three shots on the Terps’ goal, all of which came in the first 15 minutes of the game.
And it didn’t take long for Maryland to get its second goal of the game in the third quarter. A little less than eight minutes into the third frame, the Terps’ Maya Everett quickly juked past her defender and launched the ball into the back of BC’s goal.
“I thought we gave the ball away way too much,” Doton said. “Turnovers lead to their goals, and we definitely have to fix that because it is not going to be an easier game on Sunday.”
As the clock ticked down, so did BC’s chances of making a late-game run against the Terps. Despite having five shots on goal in the final frame of the matchup, compared to Maryland’s zero shots in the fourth quarter, the Eagles were unable to convert any of their opportunities into goals.
When asked about what her team needed to do better, Doton kept her explanation short and simple.
“When you are No. 4 in the country like Maryland is and No. 1 in the country like Northwestern is, there is no difference in preparation,” Doton said. “We are going to look at the film, look at our mistakes, and we will continue to grow.”
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