Boston College men’s soccer traveled to Palo Alto for the second time this year to meet Stanford for an ACC Tournament matchup.
The Eagles (7–9–1, 1–6–1 Atlantic Coast) placed 15th out of 15 teams in the ACC standings, granting them the bottom seed for tournament play. On the other hand, the Cardinal (13–20–2, 5–2–1) came second in the conference despite failing to win their final two ACC games.
As huge underdogs and having lost 3–0 to Stanford earlier in the season, BC took no prisoners in the first half of play.
In the 13th minute, Andrej Borak set up for a goal kick. Seeing the ball get pinged around midfield, Marci Killeen found himself with possession and sent a hopeful ball toward the Stanford side of the field. Michael Asare took a 1-on-1 chance with the goalkeeper clinically, slotting the ball home to take the lead.
It got even better for the Eagles in the 25th minute, as Ask Ekeland beautifully shaped an outside-of-the-foot pass into the path of Asare. Asare then dropped his defender and placed his finish into the top-right corner, doubling BC’s lead.
Despite the early 2–0 lead for the Eagles, Stanford remained dominant in the flow of play, outshooting BC 17–6 in the first half.
In the 38th minute, Russell Brown had a 1-on-1 with Rowan Schnebly, which Schnebly saved to spark a transition the other way. As the Cardinal attack drove forward, a cross was deflected to the back side of the 18-yard box, where Will Cleary fired a half volley that snuck just under Borak.
This would be the first of four goals that Stanford would score unanswered.
Just 45 seconds into the second half, Stanford found themselves threatening again. As a corner was whipped into the box, BC attempted to clear its lines, but the ball fell to freshman Jack Pymm at the top of the box. The midfielder rifled his effort into the back of the net, knotting the teams at two goals each.
The Cardinal would continue their momentum as Fletcher Bank lifted a ball toward the back post in the 53rd minute. Cleary was there again, as he guided a cushioned header into the top-left corner.
With just two minutes remaining, Bank lifted a cross towards the front-post area where Tomo Allen sealed the match with a near-post header.
It was a tale of two halves for BC, as Stanford proved too much for the Eagles on the night. Although BC didn’t go down without a fight, this match was reminiscent of its season: decent, but not great.
The Eagles end their season with just one ACC victory—of which they’ve only had five in the last five years—and their fifth consecutive first-round exit in ACC tournament play.
