For a few minutes before Virginia Tech women’s soccer scored, a defensive breakdown from Boston College seemed imminent. The Hokies had maintained strong offensive pressure for virtually the entire first half and finally, BC goaltender Wiebke Willebrandt and her defense caved.
The goal came in the 24th minute when a boot from deep in the left corner found the top of Sarah Rosenbaum’s head and soared up over Willebrandt before coming down at just the right angle to find the left corner of BC’s net.
With 20 minutes remaining in the match, BC had recorded no shots on goal—a striking difference from three days prior when the Eagles shutout Grambling State 5–0. The opponent the Eagles were facing, however, differed vastly between these two games.
While Grambling State has won just two games this season, the Hokies came into Sunday’s game having shut out six of the 10 teams they faced—and for the first 70 minutes of the match, they looked to do it again.
Virginia Tech kept the Eagles’ offense stagnant and seemingly unorganized for the entire first half and much of the second.
“We were really intimidated that first half,” BC head coach Chris Watkins said. “They’re a little bit faster and more physical than we are in a lot of positions.”
But even tough defenses make mistakes.
The Hokies (7–3–1, 2–1 Atlantic Coast) gave up three goals in the final 20 minutes, and the Eagles (9–2–1, 1–1–1) ultimately handed Virginia Tech a 3–1 loss—its first in the ACC.
On a corner, the Eagles finally got on the board at the 70:47 mark when Amalia Dray found the ball flying through the air and headed it into the back of the net.
“I think we just decided we weren’t gonna be intimidated,” Watkins said.
Six minutes later, another corner led to the Eagles’ second goal. The ball entered play, and Ella Richards was fouled as she tried to maintain control. A similar situation had unfolded on the other side of the field minutes before, but Virginia Tech’s Natalie Mitchell botched her penalty kick attempt, shooting it far left as she failed to capitalize on the opportunity, even without much interference from Willebrandt.
The Hokies’ foul on Richards set BC up with a penalty kick of its own. This time, the team rewarded with the penalty took advantage. Aislin Streicek lined up and delivered a shot that bounced so hard off the ground that it flew up and rippled the top of the Hokie’s net.
Up 2–1, the Eagles found themselves with their first lead of the game and 13:20 left on the clock. The Hokies, meanwhile, were forced to play with a sense of urgency as time ran out.
Instead of responding to this urgency with panic, the Eagles handled it with a composure that ultimately secured not only defensive stops, but also led to another goal of their own.
“Instead of playing rattled, I thought our players really managed the game well,” Watkins said. “We had a lot of seniors and grads on this team, and I thought they really managed the team well.”
Richards dribbled the ball toward the goal but defenders poked it away. Sydney Segalla found it and booted a shot toward the goal from the left side. Hokies’ goaltender Lauren Hargrove barely stopped it with her left hand, falling to the ground in the process.
Meanwhile, Ava Lung snuck in through the right side, gathered the rebound, and delivered a goal past a poorly positioned Hargrove.
Segalla’s shot was the only Eagles’ shot on goal that didn’t find the net on Sunday afternoon as BC took a 3–1 win despite having a poor offensive showing for the majority of the match.
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