Preview: No. 16 Wake Forest

No. 14 Boston College vs. No. 16 Wake Forest
Friday, October 21, 2016 | 6 p.m.
Newton Field Hockey Complex | Newton, Mass.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME

Boston College has four games remaining in the regular season: two at home and two on the road
This Friday's game against Wake Forest kicks off the final stretch that continues Sunday at Providence (11-3), next Thursday at No. 20 Harvard (8-4) and wraps up against No. 1 Connecticut (15-0) on Sunday, Oct. 30
BC will then play in the 2016 ACC Championship at Wake Forest's Kentner Stadium, Nov. 3-6

FINAL CONFERENCE TILT AGAINST A FAMILIAR FINAL FOE

The Eagles will wrap up its six-game ACC slate on Friday night
With four games left in the regular season, this matches the earliest the team has concluded its ACC schedule ... BC also completed the six-game slate with four games remaining in 2015
This is the 10th time in 12 ACC seasons that BC concludes its conference lineup against Wake Forest

ACC WIN MARK COULD BE MATCHED

Boston College comes into Friday's game against Wake Forest with a 2-3 record in ACC play and looking for its third conference win
Should BC win, the three wins would match BC's best season performance in its ACC history - a 3-3- mark in 2014
Three times BC has earned two wins in ACC play (2006, 2010, 2012)

AGAINST WAKE FOREST
Overall: 4-16
Home: 2-4
Away: 1-7
Neutral: 1-5
ACC Tournament: 1-6
NCAA: 0-1

Team Notes

The Eagles are 4-16 all-time against Wake Forest, including a 2-4 mark at home
The teams have met in six ACC Championships and Wake Forest is the Eagles' most frequent opponent in the league's championship event ... BC picked up its first-ever win in the conference's annual tournament in 2015 after claiming a double OT win in the first round
Three of BC's four wins against the Demon Deacons have come in the last six seasons - two at home and one at the ACC Championship
The programs met three times (1997, 1999 and 2003) before the Eagles joined the ACC in 2005 ... the 2003 meeting was in the NCAA First Round in Storrs, Conn.
Since BC joined the ACC in 2005, the teams have played 17 times - including six seasons with two meetings
The last three games have all been one-goal decisions and overall, nine of the last 11 meetings have been decided by a single goal

Player Notes

Emily McCoy leads all current Eagles in scoring against Wake, netting three goals in four games - including one in each game last season
Frederique Haverhals has two goals against the Demon Deacons in two games, scoring one goal in each of the two meetings in 2015
Eryn McCoy has one goal and one assist in four career games

Coaching Notes

Head coach Kelly Doton is 1-1 against Wake Forest as a head coach
Doton is a 2004 Wake Forest graduate who still ranks No. 4 in career scoring (130 pts. - 44 goals, 42 assists) ... she helped win two ACC Championships (2002, 2003) and two National Championships (2002, 2003) ... she was a two-time ACC Player of the year (2002, 2003), a three-time All-South Region (2001, 2002, 2003) and the 2003 national player of the year.

EAGLES OUT-PERFORM COACHES' PROGNOSTICATIONS

Boston College was chosen to finish seventh in the ACC this season according to the preseason coaches poll
However, the Eagles can finish no lower than sixth and have the potential to move into a tie for third place with championship seeding determined via tie-breakers that could include Virginia, Louisville, Virginia and/or North Carolina

HOME COOKING CONTINUES

Boston College will wrap up the season by bookending home games around a pair of road tilts
Friday's game against Wake Forest will be its third straight home game and sixth overall
BC is currently 2-3 at home, with all three losses at the Newton Field Hockey Complex coming in overtime
The Eagles conclude the home schedule on Sunday, Oct. 30, when they host Connecticut - currently ranked No. 1 and undefeated at 15-0 - on Senior Day

THE TOUGH GET TOUGHER FROM HERE ON OUT

Boston College boasts the nation's second-toughest schedule this season
Overall, BC's opposition – past and future – has a .673 winning percentage, which is the second-hardest cumulative total in the nation behind Virginia's opponents (.680 winning percentage)
The Eagles' past opponents have a combined .649 winning percentage, the fourth-hardest mark
However, its future opponents have a .759 winning percentage so far – denoting the nation's hardest remaining schedule still to be played
So far this season, BC has played nine ranked teams in 14 games, including a stretch of five straight from Sept. 2 through Sept. 16
Through 14 games, the Eagles are 2-5 against ranked teams with the two wins coming against No. 3 North Carolina and No. 8 Louisville

RPI RANKING SHEDS LIGHT ON EAGLES' SEASON

Boston College is ranked No. 13 in the most recent RPI (ratings percentage index)
The Eagles were ranked No. 15 in the first release (Sept. 18), before falling to No. 21 on Sept. 25 ... BC improved to No. 16 (Oct. 1) before coming in at No. 12 last week
The RPI rankings are heavily weighted in the selection of the at-large berths to the 16-team NCAA Tournament

SUNDAY WAS A RARITY

Sunday's loss to No. 14 Boston University was a rarity in the Eagles' season: the team was shut out for the first time in 2016
BC had scored at least one goal in each of its first 13 games this season before Sunday's 1-0 loss in overtime

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Players Mentioned

Frederique Haverhals

Emily McCoy

Eryn McCoy