Field Hockey Earns NCAA Tournament Bid
November 09, 2014 | Field Hockey
Chestnut Hill, Mass. – No. 9 Boston College has earned a bid to the 2014 NCAA Field Hockey Tournament, which was announced on Sunday night. The Eagles (13-6) will travel to Syracuse, N.Y., to face No. 5 Penn State. BC will take on the Nittany Lions on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to take this team to the NCAA Tournament. I believed from day one in August that they are a special group and they have the ability to compete with the best in the country,” said head coach Ainslee Lamb.
The winner will take on the winner of fourth-ranked host Syracuse and Boston University on Nov. 15 at 11:30 a.m.
Boston College has made an appearance in the NCAA tournament eight other times in program history, including last season. Overall, BC is 2-8 in the tournament. The Eagles have moved on to the quarterfinals in 1994 with a 3-2 win over Northwestern and in 1998 with a 3-2 victory against New Hampshire. Last year, the Eagles fell in the first round to Connecticut, 2-1, in overtime.
Boston College and Nittany Lions have met just once before in 2000. Penn State handed the Eagles a 2-0 loss at BC.
“I’m excited to play Penn State at Syracuse. I’m comfortable with Syracuse. I’m familiar with the field, the area, the trip. I’m excited for our program to be able to face a different opponent. We’ve never played Penn State in my tenure here, so it’s a great opportunity. I have a lot of respect for that program and I’m looking forward to playing them,” said Lamb.
Penn State (15-5) is coming off a loss to No. 2 Maryland in the Big Ten Championship semifinal game.
Six of seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams made the NCAA Tournament. The number one seed North Carolina will play the winner of a play-in game between Richmond and Liberty. Four-seed Syracuse faces Boston University. Louisville will take on Stanford, Duke faces Northwestern, and Wake Forest will play Albany.
Sophomores Emily (10g, 3a) and Eryn McCoy (9g, 5a) lead the Eagles with 23 points. Junior goalkeeper Leah Settipane leads the ACC with 113 saves.
