ACC Championship Quarterfinal Preview: No. 7 Virginia

No. 3 seed Boston College (10-8, 3-3 ACC) vs. No. 6 seed Virginia (12-7, 3-3 ACC)
2016 ACC Championship | Quarterfinal Round
Thursday, November 3, 2016 | 4 p.m.
Kentner Stadium | Winston-Salem, N.C.

National Ranks: No. 7 Virginia, No. 11 Boston College
TV: NESNplus // Regional Sports Networks (listing)

EAGLES AT THE ACC TOURNAMENT

This season marks Boston College's 12th appearance in the ACC Championship after joining the ACC in 2005
BC is 1-11 all-time in the ACC Championship
The Eagles claimed their first-ever win at the league tournament in 2015, defeating Wake Forest 4-3 in double overtime to advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history

BEST SEEDING EVER AT ACCS

Boston College comes into the 2016 ACC Championship as the No. 3 seed, its highest-ever seed in the tournament
Prior to earning the No. 3 seed this year, the highest BC had ever been seeded was No. 4, which happened four times: 2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012
In each of the last three seasons (2013, 2014 and 2015) BC was the tournament's No. 7 seed
The Eagles were the No. 5 seed three times (2005, 2009 and 2011) and the No. 6 seed once (2008)

LONG TIME GONE SINCE FACING THE CAVS AT THE ACCS

Thursday's meeting with Virginia will be the teams' third game against each other in the ACC Championship
The teams met in the first round in both 2006 and 2007, with the Cavaliers winning both: 2-1 in 2006 and 3-2 in 2007
It's been nine seasons since the teams last met in the ACC Championship

RECORD AT KENTNER STADIUM

Boston College holds a 2-7 mark all-time at Kentner Stadium
BC has played Wake Forest in Winston-Salem eight times, going 1-7 in those games which includes a meeting in the first round of the 2010 ACC Championship
This will be the Eagles' second neutral-site game ever at Kentner Stadium ... in 1997, BC defeated William and Mary, 4-3, at Kentner Stadium the day before facing Wake Forest
BC picked up both of its wins at Kentner Stadium in 1997, as the Eagles defeated Wake Forest, 3-2, the day after playing William and Mary
BC is 0-7 in its last seven trips to Winston-Salem

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY

Boston College has an all-time record of 9-20 in conference championships, including the BIG EAST and ACC tournaments
Before joining the ACC in 2005, BC went 8-9 in the BIG EAST Championship, winning three times: 1994, 1997 and 2003 ... those three tournaments were all played at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on BC's main campus
BC has twice hosted the ACC Championship - 2007 and 2013 - at the Newton Field Hockey Complex, which is located on the Boston College Newton Campus

TOUGHEST TESTS ALL SEASON

Entering the postseason, Boston College boasts the nation's second-hardest regular-season schedule
Overall, BC's opposition has a .673 winning percentage, which was the second-hardest cumulative total in the nation behind Virginia's opponents (.680 winning percentage)
Twelve (12) of BC's 18 regular-season opponents were ranked at the time the teams met, including a stretch of five straight from Sept. 2-16 and then four of the team's final five opponents
BC was 5-7 against ranked teams with the wins coming against No. 14 Stanford, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 8 Louisville, No. 16 Wake Forest and No. 16 Harvard
At the ACC Championship, all of the Eagles' potential opponents - including quarterfinal foe No. 7 Virginia - would be ranked opponents ... every ACC team has been ranked in 45 straight NFHCA Polls, a streak dating to October of 2012.

HIGHEST RPI RANK AS SEASON'S END APPROACHES

Boston College is ranked a season-high No. 10 in Tuesday's release of the RPI (ratings percentage index)
The Eagles have been making an upward climb in the RPI for the last four weeks, going from No. 16 on Oct. 1 to No. 10 this week
BC was ranked No. 15 in the very first release on Sept. 18
The Eagles are the sixth of the seven ACC teams in the RPI ratings
The RPI rankings are heavily weighted in the selection of the at-large berths to the 16-team NCAA Tournament

MILESTONES IN ACC PLAY THIS YEAR

Boston College met and established new bests in ACC field hockey play this year
In the regular season, BC matched its best-ever finish in the nation's toughest field hockey conference, going 3-3 ... the Eagles also posted a 3-3 mark in 2014
BC has earned two wins in ACC play three different seasons: 2006, 2010, 2012
Additionally, the Eagles gained the No. 3 seed in the ACC Championship, the team's highest-ever seed in the conference's annual tournament
Three times previously BC was the No. 4 seed (2006, 2007 and 2012), but had been the No. 7 seed each of the last three years (2013, 2014, 2015)

EAGLES OUT-PERFORM COACHES' PROGNOSTICATIONS

Boston College was chosen to finish seventh of seven teams in the ACC this season according to the preseason coaches poll
However, the Eagles finished tied for third with North Carolina, Virginia and Louisville, all who finished the year with a 3-3 conference mark

DOTON GOES "HOME" THIS WEEK

The Eagles' head coach, Kelly Doton, is going "home" this week for the ACC Championships, which are being hosted by her alma mater, Wake Forest
Doton is a 2004 Wake Forest graduate who still ranks No. 4 in career scoring (130 pts. - 44 goals, 42 assists) on the WFU record books
In her time in Winston-Salem, she helped the Demon Deacons win two ACC Championships (2002, 2003) and two National Championships (2002, 2003)
Doton 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.

THE 10-WIN STREAK STRETCHES ON ...

Boston College posted its 10th win of the season last Thursday night, topping No. 16 Harvard 4-1 on the road
This marks the 17th straight year BC has reach the 10-win mark
The last time BC did not collect double-digit wins was 1999 when the Eagles went 9-11 on the season

OCTOBER SURGE

Boston College went 6-2 in October to rebound its record to two games above .500
The Eagles entered the month 4-6 overall after a 3-6 September, but surged with a spectacular October effort
Both of BC's losses in October were in overtime and both against ranked teams

STREAKY EAGLES

Boston College's season has been a series of streaks - mainly three-game streaks
After a season-opening win at Quinnipiac, the Eagles lost three straight: vs. No. 16 Northwestern, vs. No. 6 Maryland at No. 2 Syracuse
BC then went on a three-game winning streak, topping No. 14 Stanford in OT, No. 3 North Carolina and Northeastern
That was followed by a three-game losing streak: No. 16 Virginia in OT, Massachusetts in OT and at No. 2 Duke
The Eagles again then went on a three-game winning streak at No. 8 Louisville, at Indiana and New Hampshire before an OT loss to No. 14 Boston University
Boston College once again rebounded with a three-game winning streak, taking victories over No. 17 Wake Forest, Providence and No. 16 Harvard
With Sunday's loss to No. 3 UConn, the Eagles are hoping their 2016 season doesn't end with a three-game losing streak

OVERTIME TESTS

Six of the Eagles' 18 games - a full one-third of the season - have gone to overtime this season, including one double-OT game
BC is 2-4 in games where the extra session is needed
And oddity of the Eagles' OT record, however, is that all four of their overtime losses have come at home, while both of their wins have come away from home
BC has taken wins against No. 14 Stanford (neutral) and Providence (away), while falling to No. 16 Virginia, Massachusetts, No. 14 Boston University and No. 3 Connecticut, all at home

HOT STICKS THIS SEASON

Both Lucy Lytle (12 goals) and Brittany Sheenan (10 goals) have reached double-digit goal totals this season
This marks just the second time in the last six years that the Eagles have had a pair of 10+plus goal scorers
In 2014, both Emily and Eryn McCoy scored 10 goals apiece
Before the twins did so, the last time two Eagles both scored 10 or more goals was 2010 when Chelsey Feole (26 goals) and Janna Anctil (11 goals) did so

EMILY McCOY THIS WEEK'S ACC PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Emily McCoy was honored as this week's ACC Offensive Player of the Week after her three-goal performance against a pair of ranked opponents last week
On Thursday, her two goals led the Eagles to a 4-1 road win at No. 16 Harvard ... it was her first multiple-goal game of the season and her first since September 2015
The All-American then tallied her third goal of the weekend - putting the Eagles up, 2-1 - against No. 3 Connecticut in a match that progressed to overtime
This is McCoy's second career ACC Offensive Player of the Week award, following her nod on Oct. 28, 2014 during her sophomore season
This is also Boston College's first ACC Offensive Player of the Week award since McCoy's recognition in 2014 - the team has been honored with three Defensive Players of the Week since

McCOYS MAKING WAVES IN THE RECORD BOOK

Senior twins Emily and Eryn McCoy are making their marks on the Eagles' career scoring lists
The twins sit back-to-back on the career points list, with Eryn currently in 10th and Emily in 11th
Eryn now has 85 career points (34 goals, 17 assists), while Emily has 84 career points (34 goals, 16 assists)
Eryn broke into the top 10 on Oct. 7 with a 1-goal, 1-assist effort in the 3-1 road win at No. 8 Louisville
During the Eagles' last game - the 4-3 OT loss to UConn - the twins actually flip-flopped each other in the record books twice ... Emily initially leap-frogged Eryn into 10th place with her goal, before Eryn reclaimed 10th with her goal later in the game
The twins are also tied for 10th place on the Eagles' career goals chart with 34 goals apiece ... they share 10th with Julie Ober '95 and Janna Anctil '11

SHEENAN STRIKING IT SENIOR YEAR

Senior Brittany Sheenan has been among the Eagles' goal leaders since the first game of the season
The forward has a career-high 10 goals - eight of which came in the first seven games of the season
After coming back from injury, she has now scored in back-to-back games headed into the postseason
Among her goals this year, she posted a pair against No. 14 Stanford on Sept. 10 – including the game-winner in overtime, a hat trick at Northeastern on Sept. 18 and goals at No. 16 Harvard and against No. 3 Connecticut.

SUPER SOPHOMORES

The Eagles' sophomore class has been stellar this year
All six of them – Elizabeth Dennehy, Kaitie Fink, Ymke Rose Gote, Frederique Haverhals, Carly Kauffman and Lucy Lytle – have played in all 18 games and have been heavy contributors
Five of them (Dennehy, Gote, Haverhals, Kauffman and Lytle) have started the last eight games
Lytle leads the team in scoring with 12 goals, while Haverhals leads the team in assists (7) and is tied for fourth overall in scoring (13 pts.)
Gote and Fink are tied for second on the team in assists (4) with senior Eryn McCoy, while Kauffman has been an anchor in the defensive midfield all season
Dennehy has been instrumental the last eight games starting as the right back because of injuries

LYTLE LIGHTING IT UP

Sophomore Lucy Lytle leads the Eagles in scoring with 24 points, all coming on her 12 goals
Her 12 goals are the team's most since Janna Anctil potted 14 in 19 games in 2010
11 of her 12 goals have come in the last 12 games, and she also had a six-game scoring streak intact from Sept. 18 through Oct. 9
As a freshman, she notched four goals in 22 games
Lytle was a member of the U.S. Under-19 Women's National Team last spring when it toured Germany in May
In 40 career games, Lytle has scored 16 goals and added two assists for 32 career points

DENNEHY MAKING THE UNFAMILIAR FAMILIAR

With injuries striking two of the Eagles' regular right backs, head coach Kelly Doton called on midfielder Elizabeth Dennehy to fill the role in the last eight games
Before stepping into the back line, Dennehy had previously made 29 appearances - all in the midfield - where she scored three goals and added one assist
With Dennehy along the back line, the Eagles have allowed just 1.57 goals per game and only two opponents more than one goal - against a lineup that has included five ranked opponents

HAMPSCH CLAIMED THE CAGE AS HER OWN

Audra Hampsch has settled into the No. 1 goalkeeper job this year after All-American and four-year starter Leah Settipane graduated last year
Hampsch has started all 18 games so far, posting a 10-8 record, a 1.75 goals against average and a .736 save percentage
She has also earned two shutouts - Sept. 26 at Quinnipiac and Oct. 9 at Indiana, both 2-0 road wins
Entering the postseason, her 92 saves lead the ACC while her 5.11 saves per game average rank second in the conference and 30th nationally among all goalkeepers ... her save percentage ranks 18th nationally

HAVERHALS HAS IT

Sophomore Frederique Haverhals has started all 18 games this season at center back, after starting all 22 games last season as a freshman
This year, she has scored three goals and leads the team in assists (7) to rank fourth on the squad in scoring (13 pts.)
Two of her three goals have been game-winners, including the second of her two against No. 16 Wake Forest on Oct. 21
Haverhals was one of just four players last season to start all 22 games, and is one of six to start all 18 games so far this year
The Dutchwoman was an NFHCA second-team all-region honoree last year and was the ACC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 11 for her two-way performances at Louisville and Indiana

LIGHTNING HITS THREE TIMES THIS SEASON

Emily McCoy's ACC Offensive Player of the Week award this week has established a new program-best for the Eagles: it was the team's third conference honor this season - it's most ever in a year since joining the league in 2005
Earlier this year, Chelcie Mendonca (Sept. 18) and Frederique Haverhals (Oct. 11) each earned ACC co-Defensive Player of the Week honors
This is just the third time in BC's 12-year ACC history that the team has drawn more than one weekly honor from the league
In 2005, Bob Dirks (Sept. 26) and Crystal Frates (Oct. 24) earned offensive player of the week honors
In 2014, Eryn McCoy (Oct. 21) and Emily McCoy (Oct. 28) copped back-to-back weekly offensive honors
McCoy's honor was just the Eagles' 14th weekly ACC field hockey honor in 12 seasons

NATIONAL LIGHTS HIT MENDONCA

Junior Chelcie Mendonca had a great week in mid-September, leading to national honors
Playing just her third game of the season at right back, Mendonca scored the game-winning goal in the 2-1 against No. 3 North Carolina on Sept. 16, helping the Eagles earn their first win over the Tar Heels since 2008
Two days later, she assisted on the game-winning goal at Northeastern
For her efforts, Mendonca not only claimed co-ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors, but also took NFHCA National Defensive Player of the Week accolades
They were the first conference and national awards of her career in

FINK FINDING A WAY TO HELP

With four assists, sophomore Kaitie Fink is tied for second on the team in assists with Eryn McCoy and Ymke Rose Gote
All of her assists have come in a substitute role
So far this year, Fink has appeared in all 18 games and made one start - against Massachusetts on Sept. 25
Last season as a freshman, Fink made a single appearance

GOTE COMING UP ROSES

Ymke Rose Gote has been a steadying presence in the Eagles' midfield this season and has been gaining offensive notice of late
The sophomore now shares second on the team in assists (4) with Kaitie Fink and Eryn McCoy
She has picked up three of her four assists in the last six games, including a career-best two-assist effort in the 4-1 road win at No. 16 Harvard on Oct. 27

MATHERSON'S TIMELY SCORING

Brooke Matherson has had a knack for the timely goal this season
Two of her strikes have been insurance goals to secure 2-0 road wins while her latest goal came with first-half time expired to level the score at 1-1
The junior opened the season by scoring the Eagles' second goal at Quinnipiac on Sept. 26 to wrap up the two-goal shutout
At Indiana on Oct. 9, she added the team's insurance goal to again help the team post the 2-0 road win
On Oct. 14, she netted the game-tying goal with no time left in the first half as the Eagles went on to defeat UNH, 2-1
Her assist against No. 16 Wake Forest on Oct. 21 - on Lucy Lytle's goal to give the Eagles a then 3-1 lead - was her first since her freshman season
Matherson has appeared in 16 games this season, and 34 in her career ... she has five career goals and three assists for 13 career points

CAPTAIN LEX

Senior Alexa Brazauskas is the Eagles' captain this year
She was chosen to lead BC this season after an extensive process last spring

HIGHEST PRESEASON RANKING EVER

The Eagles kicked off the 2016 season ranked No. 8 nationally, their highest-ever preseason ranking
It was also the team's highest-ever ranking in the first poll of the season (pre-dating the official preseason poll)
Previously, the team's highest opening ranking was No. 9 in both 2007 and 2010.

ACC PRESEASON HONORS FOR McCOY

Senior All-American Emily McCoy was one of 11 selections to the Preseason All-ACC Field Hockey Team
This was the second-straight season in which McCoy has earned the preseason designation.
McCoy earned second-team All-ACC honors in 2015 after she posted 26 points (10 goals, 6 assists) in 22 games as a junior.

ACC Championship Quarterfinal Preview: No. 7 Virginia

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexa Brazauskas

Elizabeth Dennehy

Kaitie Fink

Ymke Rose Gote

Audra Hampsch

Frederique Haverhals

Carly Kauffman

Lucy Lytle

Brooke Matherson

Emily McCoy

Eryn McCoy

Chelcie Mendonca

Leah Settipane

Brittany Sheenan

ACC Championship Quarterfinal Preview: No. 7 Virginia

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alexa Brazauskas

Elizabeth Dennehy

Kaitie Fink

Ymke Rose Gote

Audra Hampsch

Frederique Haverhals

Carly Kauffman

Lucy Lytle

Brooke Matherson

Emily McCoy

Eryn McCoy

Chelcie Mendonca

Leah Settipane

Brittany Sheenan

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