Boston College
Cal State Fullerton
Eagles Set to Open Up 2023 in California
August 15, 2023 | Women's Soccer
BC will face Cal State Fullerton in Thursday night's season-opener.
Following the match against CSUF, the Eagles will face Long Beach State on Sunday at 4 p.m. EST.
Both of BC's contests in California will be streamed on ESPN+.
Game 1 | Boston College at Cal State Fullerton
Thursday, Aug. 17, 2023 | 10:00 p.m. EST
Titan Stadium | Fullerton, Calif.
Game 2 | Boston College at Long Beach State
Sunday, Aug. 20, 2023 | 4:00 p.m. EST
George Allen Field | Long Beach, Calif.
WHAT'S ON TAP . . .
• The Boston College women's soccer team opens up the 2023 season on Thursday, Aug. 17 at Cal State Fullerton.
• The Eagles will remain on the West Coast to face Long Beach State on Aug. 20 before returning home to host South Carolina on Aug. 24.
• This marks the first trip to California for BC since the 2015 season, when the Eagles faced Stanford and Pacific.
A WIN ON THURSDAY WOULD . . .
• Give Boston College a 1-0-0 record on the year.
• Move the Eagles to 9-1-0 in the last 10 season-openers.
• Bump the Eagles to 4-1-0 all-time in the opener under head coach Jason Lowe.
ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE
• Boston College went 5-8-5 overall and 1-7-2 in ACC play during the 2022 season ... the Eagles were 3-3-3 at home and 2-5-2 on the road.
• BC returns four of its top five scorers from a season ago in Emily Sapienza, Ella Richards, Andi Barth and Sophia Lowenberg.
• All 1,620 minutes in goal return ... Wiebke Willebrandt started 17 games last season - going 5-8-4 with a .729 save percentage, 1.56 goals against average and three shutouts (and Eva Nahas earned a tie in her start).
SERIES HISTORIES
• Boston College and Cal State Fullerton have never met before.
• Boston College has a record of 1-0-0 against Long Beach ... the Eagles defeated the 49ers, 4-0, in Newton on Sept. 13, 2009.
A PRESEASON REPORT
• The Eagles reported for preseason on July 31 and began training on Aug. 1.
• BC host a pair of exhibition matches, defeating Merrimack, 5-0, and coming back to tie Providence, 3-3.
MEET THE CAPTAIN
• The Eagles are captained this season by graduate student Claire Mensi.
• Mensi played in 16 of 18 contests in 2022 while making seven starts ... the Katonah, N.Y. native scored two goals, including a game-winning goal.
• Prior to arriving on the Heights, Mensi played four seasons at Bucknell University where she was a two-year captain and helped lead the Bison to the 2021 Patriot League championship along with an NCAA Tournament berth.
• In addition to Mensi, Laura Gouvin, Emily Sapienza, Sonia Walk and Wiebke Willebrandt are a part of the team's Leadership Council.
BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETIC BONDS
• The 2023 roster features two student-athletes whose siblings have ties to Boston College athletics.
• Mia Lochhead's sister, Riley, played four years of soccer for the Eagles and graduated from BC in 2021.
• Fellow first-year Delaney Van Pelt's older brother Billy is on the BC football team.
• Now in his fifth season as the helm of the Eagles, Jason Lowe was named the program's fifth head coach on Jan. 9, 2019.
• Lowe arrived on the Heights after serving on the coaching staff at Wake Forest since 2014, including 2017 and 2018 as associate head coach.
• The Shaker Heights, Ohio native helped the Demon Deacons reach the NCAA tournament Round of 32 in 2017 and the Sweet 16 in 2018.
• Prior to Wake Forest, Lowe served as an assistant coach at Alabama for five seasons and two years at Emory.
• Lowe served as a goalkeeper for the Wake Forest men's soccer team from 1994-97.
• In addition to receiving his bachelor's degree from Wake Forest in 1998, Lowe also earned his MBA in 2002.
