Boston College broke out of the defensive third with speed and Lydia Colasante rumbled through the wide-open midfield. While crossing the centerline, Colasante launched a pass to Rachel Clark on the right side of the restraining line.
Clark charged straight at the net. The attention was on Clark, so she slung a pass to Emma LoPinto. LoPinto—left wide open—wound up and unleashed a bolt over Virginia Tech goalie Aaliyah Jones’ shoulder.
The Eagles (6–0, 2–0 Atlantic Coast) went to halftime up 16–2 after LoPinto’s goal, ultimately beating Virginia Tech (5–2, 1–1) 21–5 to remain undefeated.
“I just think we’re really focused on executing the game plan for as close to 60 minutes as we can,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “I think that’s the ultimate goal, right? Find the 60-minute game. But that usually doesn’t come till the end of the season. We’re just focused on putting more and more focus into the game plan for longer periods of time.”
Clark and LoPinto combined for five goals in the second quarter alone, matching Virginia Tech’s entire offensive performance in just 15 minutes. LoPinto’s goal with 26 seconds left in the first half capped a 9–0 run for BC and earned LoPinto the 200-goal, 300-point career milestones.
“I saw a fast break coming, and I just put myself in a position to be a feeder or a scorer, you know, just watch the possession happen,” LoPinto said. “It was a 3-v-2, we saw my defender slid, I just stepped through the space and let it fly.”
After BC won the opening draw, the Eagles marched into the offensive third and let LoPinto work in isolation. BC spread out on the opposite side while LoPinto ducked under her defender, charged into the penalty zone, and scored to put BC up 1–0 just 38 seconds into the game.
LoPinto became a conduit for BC offense in other ways, too.
Even after proven success with isolation moves, LoPinto also got the ball to others. Two assists to net-crashing teammates energized BC’s first-quarter 6–0 run.
“We want the girls to have a lot of unselfish looks and assisted goals,” BC head Coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “I think it’s just a sign of the depth of talent that we have, again, just a big part of our philosophy.”
The smallest BC lead after the half was thirteen goals. Regardless of such a big lead, though, the Eagles acted with purpose in every facet.
“We just can’t get too comfortable and casual,” LoPinto said. “I’m just doing a good job of being patient. That’s what we focus on.”
BC never yielded on the draw control, and the Eagles constantly getting the ball back to the offense gave the Hokies no rest.
“You don’t get those consecutive opportunities without the draw controls,” Walker-Weinstein said. “The offense is getting a lot of opportunities because our draw team is getting the ball consistently. I attribute that to really good midfield draw team play.”
Shea Dolce recorded a season-high 11 saves, and the Eagles set a new team-high on ground balls with 17.
“I think that’s what makes our [defensive] unit so unique, is just we’re filled with athletes, and I think we’ve really strung together a lot of great possessions these last couple games,” Dolce said.
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