With just under 12 minutes remaining in Boston College men’s soccer’s game against Siena, Marco Dos Santos found himself one-on-one with Siena goalkeeper Bennet Glinder.
With all angles cut off, Dos Santos decided to chip the ball right over Glinder’s head, finding the back of the net and putting a bow on BC’s (3–1–3, 0–1–1 Atlantic Coast) 3–1 win over the Saints (1–3–3).
“Marco’s been great all year,” BC head coach Bob Thompson said. “I think that was his second goal. He’s had other chances, but I think he was excited to get another one, and it was an incredible finish.”
The game started relatively quietly as neither team could record a shot on goal until the 24:43 mark when Leo Guarino drew a free kick just outside the Saints’ penalty area.
Ask Ekeland did not waste the opportunity, curling the ball over the top of the wall and into the bottom-left corner of the net to put the Eagles up 1–0.
The Saints nearly struck right back at the 26:32 mark as Lee Mara found himself through on net, but he stumbled and fell, squandering the opportunity.
With the momentum on their side, the Eagles led attack after attack into Siena’s third, leading to their second goal of the match. Dos Santos managed to dribble to the Saints’ near post before sliding a pass to a wide-open Christian Bejar who tapped the ball into the net.
The Eagles entered halftime with the lead for the third time this season with the prior two matches ending in draws. As the second half got underway, it looked like the match might end the same way.
Less than five minutes into the half, Siena’s Dren Dobruna found himself with space on the wing and looking for a target in the box. He wouldn’t have to look long, though, as Zach Gardner sprinted to the back post where Dobruna’s cross would find him for a header into the back of the net.
With momentum switching sides, the Saints won a corner at the 52:32 mark. After a blocked shot from Olafur Freysson, Siena regained possession and sent a cross into the box that found the head of Alejandro Perez Jorda, who redirected it right into the crossbar.
That would be the end of Siena’s comeback attempt, though, as BC tightened up on defense and restored its two-goal lead with Dos Santos’ 79th-minute strike.
The Saints tried to grab one back in the game’s waning moments by winning a corner 89:49 into the match that found Anthony Rouse, but BC keeper Brennan Klein made a diving save to his left to solidify the Eagles’ 3–1 win.
“I think the guys had a really good reaction,” Thompson said of his team’s response to its Friday night loss to No. 5 Clemson. “I think they were bummed with the last loss … And getting three goals, getting a few guys on the board is great.”
