The Season Starts Friday

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - No. 12 Boston College field hockey team begins the 2017 season with a home game Friday and a road tilt on Sunday.

The Eagles host Quinnipiac at Newton Campus Field Hockey Complex to start the '17 slate. BC has not lost a match to the Bobcats in the 13 meetings between the two New England teams. The Eagles are 13-0 and have recorded nine shutouts in the series history, including last year's 2-0 win. On Sunday, BC hits the road to play 18th-ranked Albany. The Eagles are 2-0 against the Great Danes with 2-1 victories in 2007 and in the 2015 NCAA Tournament first round.

Two of the Eagles' top four points scorers return for the 2017 season. Junior Lucy Lytle was second on the '16 squad with 24 points and led the team with 12 goals. Classmate Frederique Haverhals notched 17 points on a team-high seven assists and five goals. Her goals tied for fourth on BC. While top scorer Brittany Sheenan (26 pts) graduated, along with Eryn (18 pts) and Emily (13 pts) McCoy, the Eagles return seniors Brooke Matherson (7 pts) and Chelcie Mendonca (5 pts) and junior Ymke Rose Gote (5 pts). Haverhals, junior Elizabeth Dennehy and redshirt junior Alyssa Olenick recorded a defensive save last year. Sophomore Sarah Dwyer is taking over the goal-keeping duties after Audra Hampsch graduated. She played just over six minutes of the Northeastern game (Sept. 18) in her freshman campaign.

The Eagles start the season ranked 12th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) Preseason Poll. Last year, they finished the season ranked 11th. All seven Atlantic Coast Conference teams were ranked in the top 15 with North Carolina and Duke going No. 1 and No. 2. Syracuse ranked fifth, Louisville seventh, Virginia 10th and Wake Forest 15th. BC plays 13 teams ranked in the top 25 in 2017, including No. 4 Connecticut (Oct. 29), No. 6 Maryland (Sept. 3) and No. 16 Boston University (Oct. 15).

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Players Mentioned

Elizabeth Dennehy

Sarah Dwyer

Ymke Rose Gote

Audra Hampsch

Frederique Haverhals

Lucy Lytle

Brooke Matherson

Chelcie Mendonca

Alyssa Olenick

Brittany Sheenan