Boston College Athletics
Dwyer's Moment A Revelation Of The Journey
November 19, 2019 | Field Hockey, #ForBoston Files
The sports gods wanted the senior to make that save in that moment.
The sports gods understood how that moment needed to belong to Sarah Dwyer.
It was the NCAA Quarterfinal matchup between Boston College and No. 4 Louisville, and the back-and-forth battle eventually drew into a shootout. The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead in the best-of-five format, but the Eagles roared back to force sudden victory after Brigid Wood scored on the team's last shot.
The two teams traded goals in the first elimination round before Margo Carlin gave BC a 5-4 lead. That set the stage for Dwyer against Mackenzie Karl, who promptly attacked the cage straight on from the start. Karl attempted to turn to her left, but Dwyer anticipated her deke and swatted the ball over the end line. It bounced out of play, and as the shrieks came from her teammates and the stands, Sarah Dwyer whipped off her mask in jubilant situation.
For Dwyer, it was a moment tailor made by fate. Her 2019 season represented a revelation for so many reasons and forms, making the save all the more sweet for her coach watching from a distance. It wasn't all that long ago that Dwyer found herself backing up Jonna Kennedy at a position where only one player is on the field at a given time.
"Last year, she got bumped into a backup role when Jonna was performing well," BC head coach Kelly Doton said. "At that stage in her career, knowing Jonna was coming back, there were two paths she could've taken. One was to give up the role and understand that she was never going to win it back. The other was to go after the starting role and win it back. She went the second way."
Dwyer's journey is one of the most battle-tested and hardening roads of any student-athlete in Chestnut Hill. She arrived at BC in 2016 and played only six minutes behind incumbent starter Audra Hampsch. Hampsch was a redshirt junior that year and quickly became the team's bread and butter by making 108 saves and posting two shutouts for a national tournament qualifier.
"There was a time when we thought Audra was going to come back for a fifth year," Doton said. "Then she didn't return, and Sarah became the only keeper on the roster. We needed a backup as an emergency situation in case she got hurt, but we struggled to find one and she wound up as the only one in the cage. She took every shot in practice, but she just put her head down and ground it out."
Dwyer wound up playing almost 1,500 minutes that season, making 85 saves with three shutouts as the only goalie. That offseason, though, BC added Kennedy, and the rookie wound up supplanting her as the starter during the 2018 season. Kennedy finished the season with a 1.17 goals against average and a .787 save percentage, setting a tone that brought her back in 2019 as the expected starter.
The team had to play with a younger, inexperienced defense, though, and it led to some early-season struggles. BC lost three in a row after beating Providence to open the season, and both keepers started seeing minutes to determine who could develop chemistry with the backs. None of it discredited the individual player, but it made for a tough decision because both each had their unique positives.
"Jonna had the Providence game, and I made a switch for the Fairfield game," Doton said. "I'm sure people wanted to blame Sarah for that game, but we were just so young at the start of the season. Our defense wasn't playing together (with the goalkeepers), and we were on different pages.
"We had lost to Louisville and Saint Joseph's, which made us face that decision (about goalkeepers)," she continued. "It's always a tough decision for the goalkeeper position because it's only one spot. So we kept evaluating the position, and I just had this gut feeling that I had to make that decision. It went up through the walkthrough before the (next) game against Virginia, and after I bounced it off the staff, I pulled the trigger to go to Sarah."
Dwyer responded by shutting out the Cavaliers, then continued the string against Quinnipiac, Harvard and Boston University. She shut out New Hampshire two games after that, then locked down Duke in the season finale. She opened the ACC Championship with another shutout, then put the clamps on Virginia again.Â
After allowing one goal to Northwestern and another single strike by Louisville, she is now rewriting the BC record books. Her 0.81 goals against average is on pace to shatter a 24-year old program record, and she will likely finish the season as the only Eagle goalkeeper ever to record a mark below 1.00. Her eight shutouts are currently the third most in a single season that, combined with Kennedy's shutout against Wake Forest, ranks second most all-time.
"You always wonder, early, if you made the right decision, but Sarah's shutout (against Virginia) let me know it was going to be okay," Doton said. "Then she had another shutout against Quinnipiac. Then came Harvard and BU, and she's just kept performing well from there."
It's a luxury of riches for the Eagles, who have the utmost of belief in both goalkeepers. Doton has always been quick to point out that one goalie's success is never at the expense of the other, and the goalkeeper position, in field hockey, is part of a larger effort within the defensive unit. That Dwyer's success is so stark this year is a testament to the team effort and how one player can lead by never quitting and by holding a positive attitude throughout everything.
"The one thing that I love about her is that she always has a smile on her face," Doton said. "She was always supportive, and being a great teammate is one of those things that she did. She wasn't going to be a player moping about not playing. She was always cheering Jonna on, and she embraced working with a great mindset. She's a great kid to be around. She's coachable and is always positive. That's always critical for a goalkeeper."
That's why that save against Louisville was the perfect microcosm for a single player. The natural excitement of going to the Final Four spilled over to a team celebration. It was her moment to stop the shot, but it perfectly encapsulated her journey. She wouldn't have been in that spot without the team, and her save wouldn't have made the team win possible.Â
Boston College will play No. 1 North Carolina in the NCAA Semifinal round on Friday at 1 p.m. at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game can be seen via streaming video provided by NCAA.com.
It was the NCAA Quarterfinal matchup between Boston College and No. 4 Louisville, and the back-and-forth battle eventually drew into a shootout. The Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead in the best-of-five format, but the Eagles roared back to force sudden victory after Brigid Wood scored on the team's last shot.
The two teams traded goals in the first elimination round before Margo Carlin gave BC a 5-4 lead. That set the stage for Dwyer against Mackenzie Karl, who promptly attacked the cage straight on from the start. Karl attempted to turn to her left, but Dwyer anticipated her deke and swatted the ball over the end line. It bounced out of play, and as the shrieks came from her teammates and the stands, Sarah Dwyer whipped off her mask in jubilant situation.
For Dwyer, it was a moment tailor made by fate. Her 2019 season represented a revelation for so many reasons and forms, making the save all the more sweet for her coach watching from a distance. It wasn't all that long ago that Dwyer found herself backing up Jonna Kennedy at a position where only one player is on the field at a given time.
"Last year, she got bumped into a backup role when Jonna was performing well," BC head coach Kelly Doton said. "At that stage in her career, knowing Jonna was coming back, there were two paths she could've taken. One was to give up the role and understand that she was never going to win it back. The other was to go after the starting role and win it back. She went the second way."
Dwyer's journey is one of the most battle-tested and hardening roads of any student-athlete in Chestnut Hill. She arrived at BC in 2016 and played only six minutes behind incumbent starter Audra Hampsch. Hampsch was a redshirt junior that year and quickly became the team's bread and butter by making 108 saves and posting two shutouts for a national tournament qualifier.
"There was a time when we thought Audra was going to come back for a fifth year," Doton said. "Then she didn't return, and Sarah became the only keeper on the roster. We needed a backup as an emergency situation in case she got hurt, but we struggled to find one and she wound up as the only one in the cage. She took every shot in practice, but she just put her head down and ground it out."
Dwyer wound up playing almost 1,500 minutes that season, making 85 saves with three shutouts as the only goalie. That offseason, though, BC added Kennedy, and the rookie wound up supplanting her as the starter during the 2018 season. Kennedy finished the season with a 1.17 goals against average and a .787 save percentage, setting a tone that brought her back in 2019 as the expected starter.
The team had to play with a younger, inexperienced defense, though, and it led to some early-season struggles. BC lost three in a row after beating Providence to open the season, and both keepers started seeing minutes to determine who could develop chemistry with the backs. None of it discredited the individual player, but it made for a tough decision because both each had their unique positives.
"Jonna had the Providence game, and I made a switch for the Fairfield game," Doton said. "I'm sure people wanted to blame Sarah for that game, but we were just so young at the start of the season. Our defense wasn't playing together (with the goalkeepers), and we were on different pages.
"We had lost to Louisville and Saint Joseph's, which made us face that decision (about goalkeepers)," she continued. "It's always a tough decision for the goalkeeper position because it's only one spot. So we kept evaluating the position, and I just had this gut feeling that I had to make that decision. It went up through the walkthrough before the (next) game against Virginia, and after I bounced it off the staff, I pulled the trigger to go to Sarah."
Dwyer responded by shutting out the Cavaliers, then continued the string against Quinnipiac, Harvard and Boston University. She shut out New Hampshire two games after that, then locked down Duke in the season finale. She opened the ACC Championship with another shutout, then put the clamps on Virginia again.Â
After allowing one goal to Northwestern and another single strike by Louisville, she is now rewriting the BC record books. Her 0.81 goals against average is on pace to shatter a 24-year old program record, and she will likely finish the season as the only Eagle goalkeeper ever to record a mark below 1.00. Her eight shutouts are currently the third most in a single season that, combined with Kennedy's shutout against Wake Forest, ranks second most all-time.
"You always wonder, early, if you made the right decision, but Sarah's shutout (against Virginia) let me know it was going to be okay," Doton said. "Then she had another shutout against Quinnipiac. Then came Harvard and BU, and she's just kept performing well from there."
It's a luxury of riches for the Eagles, who have the utmost of belief in both goalkeepers. Doton has always been quick to point out that one goalie's success is never at the expense of the other, and the goalkeeper position, in field hockey, is part of a larger effort within the defensive unit. That Dwyer's success is so stark this year is a testament to the team effort and how one player can lead by never quitting and by holding a positive attitude throughout everything.
"The one thing that I love about her is that she always has a smile on her face," Doton said. "She was always supportive, and being a great teammate is one of those things that she did. She wasn't going to be a player moping about not playing. She was always cheering Jonna on, and she embraced working with a great mindset. She's a great kid to be around. She's coachable and is always positive. That's always critical for a goalkeeper."
That's why that save against Louisville was the perfect microcosm for a single player. The natural excitement of going to the Final Four spilled over to a team celebration. It was her moment to stop the shot, but it perfectly encapsulated her journey. She wouldn't have been in that spot without the team, and her save wouldn't have made the team win possible.Â
Boston College will play No. 1 North Carolina in the NCAA Semifinal round on Friday at 1 p.m. at Kentner Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. The game can be seen via streaming video provided by NCAA.com.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
GK
/ Field Hockey
M
/ Field HockeyNo. 24 Baseball Defeats Duke (April 18, 2026) - Game 2
Sunday, April 19
No. 24 Baseball Defeats Duke - April 18, 2026 Game 1
Saturday, April 18
No. 24 Baseball Defeats Duke (April 17, 2026)
Friday, April 17
#24 Baseball Defeats UConn (April 15, 2026)
Wednesday, April 15
