Field Hockey Erupts in ACC Tournament, Knocks off Boston College 6-2
By: Skyler Wilkes | @swilkes04
CitrusTV Field Hockey Beat Reporter
DURHAM, N.C. – When Syracuse and Boston College faced each other back on September 30th, the Orange pitched a 3-0 shutout and allowed just two shots. This time around, the fourth-seeded Eagles were determined to avoid a similar outcome.
Things started well for BC when Autumn Littlefield scored a little more than five minutes in. The senior capitalized after three previous tries were blocked on the doorstep. Although it took almost the entire period before SU got on the board, Quirine Comans sliced through the defense and converted the shot while falling to the ground.
The ‘Cuse got the party started in the second after Charlotte de Vries knocked in a cross from Joy Haarman. The Eagles were quick to answer when Milagros Arteta got her own rebound and lasered it past the Syracuse back line. A little later, Ange Bradley’s squad added one more goal, this time off a penalty corner. Following a slick backwards flip from de Vries, Eefke van den Nieuwenhof fired it home.
The Orange went into the break up 3-2 with a 15-9 shot advantage. Syracuse also landed seven attempts on goal and scored in the first half for the first time in four games.
SU’s offensive success continued coming out of the locker room. Lana Hamilton found Joy Haarman waiting behind the BC defense and the grad student easily put it past goalie Emily Gillespie. The midfielder’s seventh score of the season gave the ‘Cuse a 4-2 lead at the end of the third. The Eagles surprisingly finished the quarter with more shots and corners, but three saves from Brooke Borzymowski prevented any breakthroughs. The sophomore finished with nine stops, her second best mark of the year.
SU really piled it on in the fourth. After a little give-and-go, Quirine Comans pushed it through the legs of the Boston College netminder. Then, Willemijn Boogert impressively redirected a shot from Sabine van den Eijnden to add the finishing touches. The final was 6-2, which tied the Orange’s season-high in points.
Despite the lopsided score, there were a combined 39 shots with 22 landing on goal. There were a total of 14 corners too.
The ‘Cuse advanced to the ACC semifinals for the third year in a row and won its 15th game for the first time since 2016. Syracuse moves on to face undefeated top-seed North Carolina at 1 p.m. tomorrow.
