The last time Boston College field hockey faced defeat at the hands of New Hampshire was in 2009. Entering Sunday afternoon’s tilt against the Wildcats BC was looking to continue its 13-game winning streak.
“All the non-conference games are tough for us because we get the best effort from all those guys and the ACC games are a little bit different … we have to treat every opponent like they could be our last [one],” BC head coach Kelly Doton said.
And treat them like their last opponent they did. The No. 16 Eagles (6–2, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) started off strong in the first quarter with four shots on goal, as opposed to the Wildcats’ zero. Although the Wildcats kept BC from scoring in the first quarter, it was only a matter of time before they broke through UNH’s defense.
Before they could, though, UNH scored just over two minutes into the second quarter, marking the first goal of the game.
“[We needed] to move the ball faster,” Doton said. “We were hanging on to the ball too long, allowing their defenders to back tackle and get back in the play. The ball moves faster than people…when we come up with the ball we have the ability to move pretty fast and fly,” Doton said
The Wildcats might have been the first to score, but once the Eagles got the ball moving, they came back with a vengeance, scoring twice in as many minutes. A penalty stroke allowed for BC’s Peyton Hale to score the Eagles’ first goal of the game, tying the score 1–1. Hale followed up this performance by assisting Mia Garber in her goal on a penalty corner, thus making the score 2–1.
The second quarter closed with no further action, except for a shot by UNH’s Faye Meijer that was saved by BC’s goalie Charlotte Kramer.
The third quarter, much like the second, was action-packed. It only took reigning ACC Offensive player of the week Yani Zhong one minute to capitalize on a penalty corner and score with an assist from Eva Kluskens, marking her seventh goal of the season and BC’s third goal of the game.
“Yani..works hard…and puts in work. If everyone works with what she brings, we’re a tough team to beat…We’re fortunate to have [her],” Doton said.
Just four minutes later, the Wildcats responded by shooting twice on goal, the first of which was saved by Kramer and the second of which found its mark in the back of the net.
“Going against these non-conference opponents, especially on their home field, whether they’re up or down they’re always going to continue to play, and that’s what UNH did,” Doton said.
The score did not move from 3–2 until the final quarter when BC’s Madelief Grandjean, was able to tip in the ball in the first minute of the period.
With eight minutes left to play, BC was still up 4–2. Kluskens found an opportunity to score yet again, passing the ball to Madelieve Drion, who slapped the ball into the net to make it 5–2.
With just seven seconds left in the game, UNH’s Kathelijne Knuttle scored in a futile attempt to level the playing field. But it was too little too late, and the Eagles earned their 14th victory in a row over UNH.
When looking towards their next match against Louisville, Doton said she wants to make sure the Eagles continue to do what they do best: attack.
“If we want to win, we need to make sure we’re doing what we do well and hide our weaknesses a little better than what we did today,” Doton said.
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