Boston College Athletics
Women's Soccer Continues Preparation For Nebraska
November 13, 2001 | Women's Soccer
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Nov. 13, 2001
Eagles To Take On Cornhuskers In NCAA First Round: The Boston College women's soccer team returns to the NCAA tournament after a one-year hiatus from the "Big Dance" when they play the University of Nebraska in the first round at 7 p.m. Thursday at Abbott Soccer Complex in Lincoln, Neb.
Nebraska enters the game ranked No. 11 in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of American poll. The Cornhuskers fell to Big 12 rival Texas A&M in the conference semifinals on Friday, November 9, 3-2.
This will be Boston College's first trip back to the NCAA tournament since 1999 when it made the Sweet 16. The Eagles fell to BIG EAST foe Connecticut 5-0 at Rutgers University in Piscataway, N.J. Nebraska has one thing in common with Boston College. Just like the Eagles lost to the Huskies in the third round in 1999, the Cornhuskers 2000 NCAA run ended against the Huskies as they fell 1-0 in Lincoln.
The Cornhuskers have been a team of streaks this year, however, the only streaks they have accumulated have come in the form of winning. Nebraska has not lost consecutive games all season, and it has had winning streaks of five, three, four and three.
The Eagles have also been a team of streaks this season. After beginning the first month of the season 1-5-1, Boston College was able to turn its season around and win nine of its next 12 games.
Scouting The Cornhuskers: The University of Nebraska's women's soccer team presents one of the most explosive offenses in the country. The Cornhuskers have racked up 173 points in 20 games this season (8.65 points per game). Nebraska has tallied an incredible 60 goals and dished out 53 assists.
Leading the way the Cornhuskers are forward Christine Latham and midfielder Meghan Anderson. Latham finished the Big 12 regular season tied for first in goal and tied for fifth in assists. Heading into the Boston College game, she leads the team in goals (15) and total points (40) and is second in assists (10).
Anderson has also been a serious offensive threat this season for Nebraska. Anderson has recorded 10 goals and dished out 11 assists for a total of 31 points. Besides Latham and Anderson, the Cornhuskers have three players that have recorded 14 or more points.
Nebraska has also got strong play from sophomore goalkeeper Erin Miller. Miller has played in all 20 games this season, in which she has allowed only 1.09 goals per game. While giving up only 22 goals this season, she has recorded five shutouts.
Common Opponents: Boston College and Nebraska have only played one team in common during the 2001 season. That one foe was Notre Dame.
The Eagles fell the Irish in the BIG EAST semifinals 3-0 on November 9, while the Cornhuskers fell to Notre Dame 1-0 back on September 25 in Notre Dame, Ind.
The Irish tallied one goal in the first half and two in the second against the Eagles. Notre Dame was able to hold off Nebraska after scoring in the 18th minute of the game.
Eagles Fall To Irish In BIG EAST Tournament: Hopes of winning its first BIG EAST Women's Soccer Championship fell short as Boston College lost to the University of Notre Dame 3-0 in the semifinals of the conference tournament Friday, November 9, at Yurcak Field on the campus of Rutgers University.
Following Friday night's contest, Notre Dame has now won seven-consecutive games against Boston College.
It did not take long for the No. 1 seed out of the Mid-Atlantic division to get on the board. Irish forward Amy Warner scored the game's opening goal at the 2:43 mark of the first half after the ball bounced off Boston College goalkeeper Elyse Meredith after an initial shot by her.
Following Warner's first-half goal, the Eagles' defense settled in and did not allow another goal the rest of the half. However, BC was able to get anything going offensively in the first half. The Irish outshot the Eagles by a convincing 11-2 mark in the first half. Meredith finished the first half with five saves.
Notre Dame put the game on ice in the 63rd minute when forward Amanda Guertin placed a short cross to the middle of the Boston College goalie box and forwards Ali Lovelace volleyed the ball past Meredith.
The Irish's final goal was similar to their first goal of the evening. Forward Melissa Tancredi scored following a rebound of her own shot. Following her initial shot, which was saved by Meredith, the ball bounced back to her feet and she slid it in the back of the net.
Notre Dame finished the game outshooting Boston College 20-5. Despite giving up three goals, Meredith finished with 10 saves.
Head Coach Alison Foley: Boston College women's soccer coach Alison Foley is in her fifth season as the head coach of the Eagles. Under her direction, the Eagles have become one of the elite programs in the country as BC has posted a 62-35-10 mark under her tutelage.
In 2000, BC staged a 14-7 campaign and advanced to the semifinals of the BIG EAST tournament. Alumnus Sarah Powell earned All-America honors, as well as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year accolades. Sarah Rahko was the league's Rookie of the Year and also garnered Northeast Regional All-American honors. The team's offense clicked at a high pace, scoring 54 goals, the most since Foley's arrival at the Heights.
Eagles' Offensive Attack: Even through the ups-and-downs of the 2001 season, one thing that the Eagles have been consistent with is their scoring. In just 21 games this season, Boston College has accumulated 41 goals and added 28 assists for a total of 110 points.
Sarah Rahko, Meghan Moore, forwards Katherine Halloran and Carolyn Iacobelli and midfielder Lindsey Fairweather have all tallied at least 10 points on the season. Rahko and Moore lead the team with 26 and 25 points, respectively. Iacobelli and Halloran have both added 12 points, and Fairweather has chipped in with 11.
Boston College has also dominated its opponents in the shots category. Through last Sunday's BIG EAST quarterfinal contest with Rutgers, the Eagles have outshot their opponents 324-267. Opponents have only scored 33 goals and dished out 21 assists.
Northeast Recognition: Following a 1-5-1 start to the 2001 season, no one really knew where the Boston College women's soccer team would end up. Also, no one could have imagined that after such a slow start the team would go 10-4 over the month of October and the start of November.
Because of this turnaround, the Eagles have gained some recognition in the Northeast region and this is evidence by their rankings in the Nationals Soccer Coaches Association of America and SoccerBuzz.com polls. In the NSCAA poll, Boston College comes in ranked No. 6 in the northeast, while in the SoccerBuzz.com poll it stands at No. 7.
Ten teams ranked in the region, the Eagles have played seven of them. Boston College holds a 3-4 mark against the seven teams. One of its wins came against the University of Connecticut, who presently is ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 9 in the country.
New Found Blood: After beginning the season 1-4-1, Boston College head coach Alison Foley decided to make a switch in goal. Who could have imagined that the goalie Foley would switch to would come from the softball team?
Sophomore Elyse Meredith, who plays first and third base on Boston College's softball team, took the goaltending reigns back on September 28 against St. John's. Even though the Eagles went 0-2 over that weekend, Meredith showed signs that she could be a strong goalie and help Boston College turn its season around.
After starting off 0-2, Meredith has gone on to win 10 of her last 14 games, which includes four shutouts. Prior to her arrival, the Eagles had not shut out an opponent. In her 15 starts, Meredith is averaging 6.2 saves per contest. She recorded 10 saves in Boston College's 2-0 upset of No. 9 Connecticut back on October 7.
Following victories over then No. 24 Miami and No. 9 Connecticut, Meredith was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week. Following these two wins, she was placed on SoccerAmerica Magazine's Team of the Week. She also earned the BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor again on October 15 following victories over Georgetown and Virginia Tech.
Women's Soccer Player Honored By BIG EAST: The BIG EAST Conference handed out its postseason awards at the annual championship banquet on Thursday, November 8.
Voting was conducted among the leagues's 14 head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own player.
The Eagles did not go unnoticed by the conference. Sarah Rahko was selected first-team all-BIG EAST and was named BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year. Rahko, who was named BIG EAST co-Rookie of the Year in 2000, finished the regular season as the Eagles leading scorer. She tallied nine goals and dished out eight assists for a total of 26 points. Her 26 points placed her tied for fifth in this category.
The final award for Boston College went to freshman defender Danielle Servedio, who was named to the BIG EAST all-Rookie team. Servedio was one of the anchors on the Eagles' defense during the regular season.
Servedio was one of the main reasons for the Eagles being able to turn their season around. Following the loss of defender Kate McDonald to a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the Boston University game, Servedio stepped up to lead the Boston College defense and help be one of the team leader.
