Coming off an 8–2 victory against UNH, which marked the most goals scored since 2016, Boston College field hockey looked to grab its first ACC win of the season.
BC (5–10, 0–7 Atlantic Coast) continued its in-conference losing streak on Friday night, falling to No. 9 Syracuse (11–4, 3–4) 3–1 at home.
Starting the contest off evenly matched, the Eagles notched the first shot on goal of the game during the fourth minute, as Mia Garber tapped the ball to the top-left corner of the net to be met by Syracuse goalkeeper Jessie Eiselin.
After back-and-forth play for much of the first period, BC goalie Carine van Wiechen made an acrobatic save to her right to keep Syracuse’s Bo van Kempen’s shot out of the cage. The period ended 0–0, as time expired.
Period two commenced in the same fashion as period one had concluded. The Orange’s Aiden Drabick sprinted up the right side of the pitch, cutting in from the wing and making a run to the net, but Wiechen was there to halt any attack.
From there, Syracuse’s offense clicked, as they brought legitimate pressure to BC’s defensive unit. Aubrey Turner weaved through two Boston College defenders to get a shot off on the run. The ball found the back of the net, catching Van Wiechen off balance.
Just 36 seconds later, Syracuse again capitalized on BC’s mistakes. Breaking from the left side of the field, Turner crossed the ball to the middle of the striking circle to find Lieke Leeggangers for a diving, tap-in goal of her own.
Throughout the second period, the Eagles struggled to muster offensive power with Syracuse controlling the majority of the time of possession. The momentum had shifted in favor of the Orange.
Hoping to cut the lead in half before time winded down, Boston College’s Caroline Chisholm sent a hard shot on goal, where it deflected off the mask of a Syracuse defender. The ball dribbled to the back of the cage to no avail, as the officials overturned the Eagle’s efforts.
Syracuse looked to preserve their 2–0 lead coming out of the halftime break, as they switched goalkeepers to Tane King. The Orange began to press BC immediately, and Liz Stange represented a real threat in the middle-attacking part of the field. She played a give-and-go with Lana Hamilton, spun, and fired a shot into the bottom corner, giving Syracuse a stranglehold on the game.
Entering period four, BC looked to pressure Syracuse’s defense for the last 15 minutes of play in its ACC matchup. During the 53rd minute, from the middle of the field, Madeline Leigh crossed the ball to the shooting circle for a last-second effort, ultimately finding Madelieve Drion for a BC goal to give the team a lifeline in front of the home fans.
The clock winded down and BC was left scrambling, falling to beat yet another in-conference opponent.