Eagles Ready for ACC Championships

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Boston College field hockey team is in Louisville for the Atlantic Coast Field Hockey Championships. The seventh-seed Eagles (11-7) will take on No. 2 seed Duke (15-2) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

The game will be broadcast on the ACC Regional Sports Network and streamed on ACC Network Extra.

In the 2017 regular-season meeting, Duke defeated BC, 3-2, in a shootout at the Newton Campus Field Hockey Complex. Each time the Blue Devils went ahead, the Eagles answered, including senior Alesandra Miller's tying goal in the 49th minute, which eventually sent the game to overtime. Sophomore goalie Sarah Dwyer made six saves in the contest.

The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 12-7, and have won the last five meetings. This is the first time BC has faced Duke in the ACC Tournament and the two teams have never faced off on neutral territory. The last BC win came in 2012 in a 2-1 victory in Durham.

The Eagles are 1-12 in the ACC Tournament. Seven of the losses were by one goal and BC is 1-2 in overtime games in the league's postseason contests. BC's first and only win came in 2015, in head coach Kelly Doton's first year at the helm. The Eagle defeated Wake Forest, 4-3, in double overtime in the first round. They lost, 3-2, to North Carolina in the semifinal game. This is the fourth time BC is the seventh seed (2013, 14, 15). Last year, the Eagles came in as the No. 3 seed, the highest spot in program history. They have been the fourth seed four times (2006, 07, 10, 12), the No. 5 seed three times (2005, 09, 11) and the sixth seed once (2008).

Virginia holds the top seed in the tournament. After a bye, the Cavaliers will play the winner of No. 4 Wake Forest and No. 5 North Carolina. No. 3 Louisville will open the tournament against No. 6 Syracuse. With a victory on Thursday, the Eagles would take on the winner of the Cardinals-Orange game on Friday at 2:30 p.m. This is the first time Louisville is hosting the ACC Championships. The Cardinals joined the league for the 2014 season.

The Eagles are 4-3 at home, 4-4 on the road and 3-0 on neutral territory. They have lost their last two games – the first time they have suffered back-to-back losses in 2017 – but both have been to ranked opponents on the road (No, 13 Wake Forest, No. 1 Connecticut).

The BC scoring has been spread out among 12 different Eagles. Freshman Fusine Govaert leads the way with six goals and is tied with Miller for the team lead with 13 points. Senior Brooke Matherson and junior Lucy Lytle are second with five goals apiece. Govaert, Matherson and freshmen Jaime Natale and Caroline McGovern each have two of the Eagles' 11 game-winners with Lytle, junior Frederique Haverhals and freshman Elizabeth Warner notching one each. Miller has recorded a career and team-high seven assists in 2017. Juniors Ymke Rose Gote and Haverhals are next with five each. In all, 15 of the Eagles' 21 who have logged minutes have recorded at least one point.

Dwyer leads the ACC with 81 saves and her .692 save percentage is fourth in the league. In the 2-1 overtime loss to No. 7 North Carolina, Dwyer tallied a career-high nine saves, stopped 10 of 11 corners and 11 of 13 shots on goal. She has tallied three shutouts this season.

Haverhals and Gote earned All-ACC Second-Team honors, the league announced on Wednesday.

Duke garnered five All-ACC accolades, the most of any team. The Blue Devils are led by Rose Tynan, who has scored 29 points on 13 goals and three assists. She ranks fourth in the ACC in both. Alyssa Chillano is tied for the league lead with BC's own redshirt junior Alyssa Olenick with three defensive saves. DU goalie Sammi Steele tops the ACC with a .782 save percentage, is second with a 1.08 goals-against average and is second behind Dwyer with 68 saves on the season.

The Blue Devils have won their last six games, including one-goal conference wins against North Carolina and Wake Forest. Five of the six victories were played on their home turf. Their last loss came on Oct. 7 at the hands of Syracuse. The only other loss of the season came on Sept. 8 at Virginia. Duke is 7-1 at home, 2-0 on neutral territory and boasts a 6-1 road record.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Dwyer

Ymke Rose Gote

Fusine Govaert

Frederique Haverhals

Lucy Lytle

Brooke Matherson

Caroline McGovern

Alesandra Miller

Jaime Natale

Alyssa Olenick

Elizabeth Warner