Boston College women’s soccer took less than 10 minutes to get on the board in its Thursday night game at NC State. Sydney Segalla outsprinted her defender down the field, gaining possession deep on the right side and distracting goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas just long enough to sneak a pass inside to Ava Lung. Lung buried the short-handed goal, her fifth of the season, to put the Eagles up 1–0.
But ten minutes into the second half, that lead was erased as Jade Bordeleau delivered the equalizer with a hard strike from the right side, bringing NC State back into the game and, at the very least, saving her team from suffering its seventh shutout of the season.
A tie seemed highly probable as the game clock ticked down and neither team was able to capitalize on its chances at another goal. Aislin Streicek finally broke through, however, giving the Eagles (10–2–1, 2–1–1 Atlantic Coast) a 2–1 win that kept NC State (3–8–2, 0–4–1 ) winless in the ACC.
Ella Richards got the ball in the middle of the penalty box and maintained control through defensive pressure from two members of the Wolfpack. Richards’ composure allowed her to deliver a clean pass to Aislin Streicek, who sat waiting on the left side.
Without missing a beat, Streicek stepped up to the pass and delivered a shot that Pratapas had little hope of stopping as it flew past her through the air and rippled the right corner of the net.
Shortly before Streicek’s game-saving goal, with about fifteen minutes remaining, Andi Barth found herself directly in front of the Wolfpack’s goal with defenders flanking her on both sides. Despite her prime positioning and possession, however, she delivered a ball that she seemed to have lost control of, and it flew wide.
The Eagles, who entered the game ranked fourth in the nation averaging 8.5 corner kicks a game, did not shoot a single corner on Thursday night. Unable to use its typical plethora of corners to get things going offensively, BC struggled at some points to set up its offense as usual. The Wolfpack, on the other hand, kicked 11 corners, and eight in the second half alone.
Barth’s opportunity was one of many in which it seemed as though the Eagles would finally pull ahead, only for their shots to fly wide or high, keeping them level with the Wolfpack. With 35 minutes remaining, Grace Courter missed a penalty kick after a foul on Antonella Mazziotto. 34 seconds later, Bordeleau’s shot hit its mark.
BC wasn’t alone in its missed opportunities, however. NC State had chances all the way down to the wire that just couldn’t hit their mark.
With 2:46 remaining and the game on the line, Hannah Jibril got within inches of tying things up. She fired a shot that flew across the goal, causing Willebrandt to leap and extend, reaching for a deflection. The ball ended up missing the left of the goal by inches and Willebrandt was not credited with a save, but the method of the miss didn’t matter for NC State. That was its last shot at a tie as the game ended without another attempt from either team.
The Wolfpack, having come into the game with no conference wins and its last victory coming on Sep. 15, looked hungry. But at the end of the game, the Eagles looked hungrier.
Willebrandt’s save at the 64:19 mark—on a shot that came off Bordeleau’s foot yet again—was what the Eagles needed to get their second consecutive win in the ACC. The Eagles now possess their highest number of total season wins since 2018.
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