Preview: ACC/Big Ten Cup vs. Northwestern, Maryland

No. 8 Boston College vs. No. 16 Northwestern
Friday, Sept. 2 | 4 p.m.
Spooky Nook Sports | Lancaster, Pa.

No. 8 Boston College vs. No. 6 Maryland
Sunday, Sept. 4 | 2 p.m.
Spooky Nook Sports | Lancaster, Pa.

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – After opening the 2016 season with a 2-0 win at Quinnipiac last Friday, the No. 8 Boston College field hockey team jumps into the meat of its schedule. The Eagles' next five opponents are all ranked in the preseason NFHCA poll, starting with this weekend's opposition at the ACC/Big Ten Cup in Lancaster, Pa.

On Friday, Boston College (1-0, 0-0 ACC) will meet No. 16 Northwestern (1-1, 0-0 B10) at 4 p.m. at Spooky Nook Sports. This will be the ninth meeting between the programs, with the Wildcats leading, 7-1. The two teams met last year as part of the same event with NU claiming a 3-1 win. The Eagles' lone win came in 2002, a 1-0 victory.

Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., the Eagles will meet No. 6 Maryland (1-1, 0-0 B10) at USA Field Hockey's home. Last season, BC claimed its first-ever win over the Terrapins – in 12 tries – when AshLeigh Sebia converted off a rebound just 1:08 into overtime. It was her second goal of the game and came as a response to Maryland's equalized just four and a half minutes left in regulation. The Eagles are now 1-11 all-time against Maryland – and last year's victory came in the teams' first non-ACC meeting since 1997.

Last weekend, BC started off the season with a convincing win against Quinnipiac as All-American Emily McCoy and Brooke Matherson tallied the two goals and Audra Hampsch recorded her first career shutout in her first-ever start in goal. The Eagles out-shot the Bobcats, 21-7, including a 14-4 margin on target. While QU kept the Eagles at bay in the first half, McCoy's goal came just after the break – at 38:15 – before Matherson added the insurance goal with under eight minutes to play. Hampsch came up big with a high save minutes before Matherson's goal to preserve the lead.

Northwestern started the season last weekend with a 2-1 loss to No. 17 Boston University in Durham, N.H., before rebounding with a 5-0 win over Massachusetts on Sunday. Seniors Dominique Masters and Isabel Flens paced the Wildcats in their opening games, each recording two goals and one assist. NU has averaged 3.00 goals per game, while allowing 1.00 goals per contest. Senior Lindsay von der Luft started both games in goal, stopping six of eight shots she faced.

Like the Wildcats, Maryland also started the year with a win and a loss. Friday saw the Terrapins earn a 6-2 win over St. Joseph's on the road, while No. 2 Syracuse topped Maryland – 4-1 – on Sunday. Senior Grace Balsdon notched three goals, while graduate Welma Luus and redshirt senior Emma Rissinger each scored two. Goalkeepers Sarah Bates and Sarah Holliday each saw time last weekend, with Holliday starting both games and allowing five goals on 11 shots in 111:05. Bates made saves on four of the five shots she faced in 28:55 of action.

Following this weekend's games, BC will travel to face the defending national champion – second-ranked Syracuse – next Friday, Sept. 9, at 3:30 p.m., before facing No. 11 Stanford in Syracuse on Saturday, Sept. 10, at 2 p.m.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Audra Hampsch

Brooke Matherson

Emily McCoy

AshLeigh Sebia