High Energy Eagles Ready to Return to Glory

Friday, August 17

Newton, Mass.

7:00PM

Boston College

Quinnipiac University

Photo by: John Quackenbos

High Energy Eagles Ready to Return to Glory

August 14, 2018 | Women's Soccer, #ForBoston Files

BC opened up its preseason with a 4-1 exhibition win over No. 4 Penn State

By: Dan Rubin, BCEagles.com contributor

The middle of August represents the beginning of the end for many college students. For the NCAA women's soccer schedule, though, it's simply the beginning. Starting in mid-August, it's the earliest season to start, the official kickoff to the NCAA sports calendar, and the first sign that college sports are back.

So for a team like Boston College, it becomes critical to get off to a fast start. After a handful of training sessions and a 4-1 win over No. 4 Penn State in an exhibition scrimmage, the starting blocks are already firing on all cylinders.

"We did preseason a little bit differently this year," head coach Alison Foley said. "We started with a scrimmage against Penn State, so we only had five to six training sessions with a running test and whatnot. We started bigger with team tactics (more) than we normally do because we had the scrimmage, but we were hoping to see what worked and what might not have worked. Then we could use the rest of the preseason to redesign our training sessions if we needed. It was the first time we really did that, and we were really happy with how things went."

BC will rely on a more experienced core in order to have that leadership. Key players return at nearly every position from a roster that won 10 games for the third straight season last year. The product of their circumstances, BC now has another year in which to develop those players together into a cohesive unit.

The Eagles entered last season with a young roster with 16 freshmen and sophomores. They had just fourth or fifth year players and six in the junior class. Though this year's roster only has six seniors again, BC is much more middle heavy, with 17 players who are either juniors or sophomores, the bulk of which saw a number of minutes last year.

"It's huge (to have a returning roster)," Foley said. "You can have a lot of great players, but a lot of great players need to be able to know what they're doing (together). They understand each other's playing style and strengths. When you play center forward with Olivia Vaughn, for example, it's a through ball from the midfield. When you play center forward with Carly Leipzig, it's a ball at her feet so she can hold the game up for us a bit. It's that knowledge that makes a better field chemistry."

BC also returns and augments key players at nearly every position, starting in goal with fifth year senior Alexis Bryant. She has over 50 appearances for the Eagles already, having started all but one of her games dating back to 2015. She's recorded 13 shutouts, including six last year, while averaging 1.38 goals allowed for her career with a .725 save percentage. She'll be pressured for playing time by freshman Maddie Murphy, a national team development product who trained with the United States Women's National Team at its U-14, U-15 and U-16 camps.

They'll play behind a back line stocked with tough, gritty defenders. Gianna Mitchell was a breakout star for the Eagles last year after playing with former captain Allyson Swaby. As a rookie, Mitchell started all 20 games. She will play alongside Elysa Virella, a senior who played over 1,500 minutes in her first year at BC after transferring from Monroe College in New York.

Joining Mitchell and Virella will be senior international Rachel Newborough, a tongue-in-cheek "on loan" player from Northern Ireland. She's a veteran of the European circuit and is on the roster for the Doncaster Rover Belles in England after making her debut for her country's national team.

They continue that system of augmenting returnees up through the midfield and into the forward position. Jill Jennings and Emily Langenderfer are back after playing significant minutes last season. They'll be playing alongside Gaby Carreiro and Jade Ruiters, two players who lost last season to injury.

Then there's Sam Coffey, the sophomore center midfielder who attacked defenses for five goals and 10 assists last year. She earned both All-ACC Freshman and All-ACC Third Team honors. Coffey was recently named to the 2018 Preseason All-ACC team.

"Having Gaby Carreiro back from injury was amazing," Foley said. "Her and Kayla Duran did a great job. We had some success (in State College) against a team ranked fifth in the country, and I don't think we would have had it without poise, presence and experience.

"Jade is coming back off of an ACL injury," she added. "She's off to a great start. Emily and Jill have experience now too, and Sam Coffey attacks from center mid."

BC will combine athleticism and speed with size on its front line. Olivia Vaughn is back at the center position and is working with Carly Leipzig and Jenna Bike. They combined for 16 goals last season, including six from Bike and five apiece from Leipzig and Vaughn. Of the trio, only Leipzig is a senior.

It's a group that will lead the Eagles into a stiff schedule littered with challenging competition. BC has been dominant to start the last two seasons after going undefeated in its first nine and ten games in 2016 and 2017, respectively. But the Eagles know the toughest bulk of the schedule comes when ACC competition starts.

Two ACC teams (Duke and North Carolina) earned top seeds to last year's Women's College Cup, with a third and fourth (Virginia and Florida State) earning a top four seed. Eight conference members went to the national tournament, of which half advanced to the Round of 16.

Boston College finished just outside of that group despite a 4-5-1 record against league opponents. The Eagles missed the NCAA Tournament despite a team behind them, Clemson, qualifying. After finishing eighth and losing to Duke in the ACC Tournament, the Eagles know that a return to the tournament is right in front of them as long as they can keep their energy high and flowing with competitiveness.

"We're in a hyped state as a coaching staff and as a team," Foley said. "I think the girls are excited about the way everyone came back, and they're sharp and ready to go. Everyone understands the leadership is going to be different, but any time you go on the road with a big victory, it's a big deal to the kids. So, there's a lot of high energy."

The Eagles open up the 2018 season on Friday when they host Quinnipiac on Newton Campus (7 p.m.). It's the first of nine straight games in the first month of the season where they will play either at home or against city rivals in Boston.