The Minutewomen won the shootout 3–1. (Natalie Condoor / Heights Staff)
Charley Kramer dropped to her knees in disappointment after No. 14 UMass field hockey defeated No. 4 Boston College in a shootout thriller on Friday night.
Storming the field in celebration, the Minutewomen (5–0) silenced the Eagles (3–2) for the second straight year, winning 2–1 following two overtime periods and a shootout.
After finishing last season 8–0 on its home field, BC looked to stretch that streak in its home opener against UMass. That didn’t happen, though. For much of the game, it didn’t seem like the game would dissolve into an overtime period—let alone a shootout. The Minutewomen tacked on their first goal 1:59 into the game.
After a foul on UMass, Neva Eisenga swept the ball to teammate Emily Barrett. Dribbling the ball past a sea of BC defenders, Barrett attacked Kramer one-on-one.
What should have been an easy save by Kramer turned into a UMass goal, as Kramer missed the grab and gave the freshman from England her first collegiate goal.
Bending down in frustration, Kramer seemed to take a deep breath, hoping to reset what had gone wrong.
With just under five minutes to play in the first frame, Melea Weber stood on the line outside the field, preparing to send the ball to one of her teammates on a penalty corner. But it never made its way there, as the Eagles were shut down rapidly by the Minutewomen defense.
That same problem persisted for another 15 minutes. And as the clock sounded, signaling the end of the first half, BC had yet to put the ball in the back of the cage.
BC’s inability to convert on penalty corners and fouls plagued its offense. And as the offensive stagnation carried on, frustration grew in the third frame.
Fortunately for the Eagles, Madelieve Drion eased those emotions with 10 minutes left in regulation.
Two consecutive Drion penalty corners ended with Myrte Van Herwijnen saves, but the third time was the charm. Drion just about did it for the Eagles, slicing the ball to Madeline Leigh on her third penalty corner. Van Herwijnen denied the advance, though.
But Klara Mueffelmann was at the right place at the right time, sending the ball back to Drion, who tapped it into the back of the Minutewomen’s net.
The next 30 minutes wound down—the remaining 10 minutes of regulation, then two 10-minute overtime periods—and nothing changed. Then came a field hockey fan’s delight—the thrill of a shootout.
Mia Garber was at the helm for the Eagles’ first shootout attempt. But Van Herwijnen jumped in front of the ball as it sailed toward the net, preventing a BC goal.
The Minutewomen notched a successful attempt by Barrett immediately after.
The next four shootout attempts mirrored one another. BC and UMass were denied, and the next attempts from both teams went in.
All eyes were on Kramer after BC’s Alex De Cain was unable to get the ball past the goaltender in the allotted eight seconds.
Standing at the line was Sophie Kent. Kent, blaring full speed toward Kramer, placed the ball in a sweet spot. There was nothing that Kramer could do, as the Minutewomen took the matchup 2–1 in front of BC’s home crowd.