In No. 9 Boston College field hockey’s matchup against the No. 12 Orange, it appeared as if either team had a chance of winning for almost every minute of the matchup.
It took almost 59 minutes for the first and only goal of the game to be scored by BC in its last regular season game of the 2024 season.
Off a BC penalty corner from Maeve Seeger, Martina Giacchino launched the ball toward Syracuse’s net. But Louise Pert made a diving save to prevent the Eagles’ shot.
Just six seconds later, Madelieve Drion delivered for BC on an offensive rebound. Sweeping the ball into the back of Syracuse’s net after Pert’s save, Drion nailed the ball past Pert—marking the Eagle’s last goal of the 2024 regular season.
With one minute remaining in the matchup, as the clock ran out, so did the Orange’s chances at tying up the score. Dribbling the ball down the field, BC’s defenders cornered and double teamed the offense. And Syracuse (12–5, 4–4 Atlantic Coast) was unable to make a comeback and the Eagles (12–5, 6–2) capped off their 2024 campaign with a win.
“She was in the right place at the right time,” BC head coach Kelly Doton said. “We had a couple corners early on that we didn’t execute on. We needed that one. It was pure excitement.”
The Eagles’ win against Syracuse marks its first defeat over the Orange since 2014.
The Eagles gained some steam in the second half, but the first half was rather silent for both teams, with BC tallying only two shots and the Orange logging three.
“I think we started slow,” Doton said. “Syracuse was ready to go and we were not connecting attack-wise. We had some turnovers that were costing us some chances. We then took over and played better in the second quarter. We calmed down a little bit and started to play BC hockey.”
In the third frame, it was once again a back-and-forth possession between BC and Syracuse with the Eagles tallied only one shot and the Orange tallied zero shots.
But the fourth quarter proved to be a more competitive battle for both teams.
Compared to a lack of shots on goal earlier in the matchup, BC tallied five shots, while Syracuse had three shots. Most of the corner penalties in the game also took place during the fourth frame.
“We knew before the game that our defensive effort was going to win the game, and they performed much better defensively than they did last weekend,” Doton said. “They have to keep building on it as we move forward to ACC’s next week.”
But none of that mattered after BC’s game-winning goal with a little over one minute left in the matchup.
“It was really fun as a coach to watch their pure joy and excitement for each other,” Doton said. “It was fun to see the bench react and it was fun to see those guys react. At the end of the game, rushing on the field put a smile on my face.”
