For three quarters in its Sunday afternoon matchup against Northwestern, Boston College field hockey looked on track to take down the defending national champions. 

Holding the Wildcats to zero goals through the first three frames, everything seemed to be clicking for the Eagles in the ultimate test. 

Northwestern had yet to give up a goal in its first three games, and the Eagles were giving them a run for their money. 

But it was just too good to be true, as No. 4 BC (3–1) fell 2–0 to No. 1 Northwestern (4–0) after everything unraveled in the final frame. 

With a little over five minutes to play in the third quarter, Klara ​​Mueffelmann was sent to the sidelines after a BC yellow card. 

Fortunately for the Eagles, it wasn’t too catastrophic, as the Wildcats soon racked up penalties of their own with a Laura Salamanca yellow card and an Ashley Sessa red card. 

Up by one player for the remainder of the contest, the Eagles couldn’t have had better luck. BC had every reason to finally make its mark on the scoreboard. 

But they were unable to do so. Instead, Northwestern took advantage. 

Rattling off three consecutive shots on the Wildcats’ cage, the trio of Martina Giacchino, Madeline Leigh, and Melea Weber couldn’t quite get the ball past the gloves of Juliana Boon. And BC couldn’t protect it either, as Northwestern snatched the ball and took it down to the opposing side of the field. 

That turnover was far more costly for the Eagles than the red card ultimately was for the Wildcats. 

Off a one-timer, Grace Schulze sent the Northwestern bench into a cheering frenzy, securing a one-goal Wildcat lead off an Aerin Krys assist. 

And pulling goaltender Charley Kramer out of the net with a little under five minutes to play didn’t do too much to increase the offense’s efficiency. 

In fact, it only gave Northwestern the chance to tally another score on an open net, as Schulze got her second goal in less than 10 minutes. 

While the Eagles tried to go punch-for-punch with the reigning national champions, they ultimately fell short for the fourth straight year. 

The last time BC took a game against the Wildcats was in 2021, when the Eagles narrowly defeated Northwestern 2–1 in a late-game thriller. 

But the script did not change this year, either. Taking their 18th matchup against BC, the Wildcats proved exactly why they held up the national championship trophy last November.