SU shocks #3 Boston College, handing them their first loss of the season
By Nick Luttrell
CitrusTV Field Hockey Beat Reporter
CHESTNUT HILL, M.A. — On Friday afternoon, Syracuse (4-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) took down Boston College (6-1, 0-1 Atlantic Coast) by a score of 3-1.
While the first quarter saw no goals by either team, Syracuse had the advantage. The Orange put up six shots as opposed to BC’s zero. But where SU dominated in the first quarter can’t be seen on a stat sheet.
The constant pressure by the defense of Syracuse put Boston College in a frenzy. Multiple turnovers and penalties by the Eagles allowed the Orange to maintain possession of the ball throughout much of the first quarter. It wasn’t until the 19th minute of the first half that Syracuse was able to capitalize on their opportunities and score a goal.
After a sprint ahead by Claire Cooke, she dished the ball over to Charlotte de Vries just outside the shooting circle. De Vries held the ball for a half-second before spinning around her left shoulder, causing the goalie to hesitate slightly as De Vries slung the ball to the back of the net.
To make a pre-season All-ACC selection in BC’s Jonna Kennedy fallback is something not many other players in college field hockey can do. It is something that Syracuse missed earlier this season as de Vries was in Chile competing for the U.S. in the Junior Pan American Championships.
Later in the second quarter, Fluorine Van Boetzela got in on the action, and it was again defense leading to offense. After an intercepted pass by Tess Queen and good passing by the SU offense, Van Boetzela shot it past Kennedy to put the Orange up 2-0 going into halftime.
While it seemed to be the SU defense that was shutting down BC, Eagles Head Coach, Kelly Doton, blamed her team’s defense.
“They’re beating our press pretty easily right now… we got a lot to work on for our defense”, Doton said to the ACCN commentators at halftime.
Boston College needed something to go right for them early on in the second half. But instead, it was Syracuse that picked up where they left off. Barely two minutes into the second half, and Syracuse was already threatening to score. This time it was more of the offense doing it on their own. As they slowly worked their way up the field, Laura Graziosi found herself an open shot that was blocked by BC but immediately after, tipped in by Quirine Comans.
Although there were still nearly 30 minutes of field hockey left to play, the goal by Comans to put her team up 3-0 seemed to seal the deal.
In the net for Friday’s game was Brooke Borzymowski who earned her first career win. Her presence wasn’t needed much until the second half. After the goal by Comans in the early stages of the third quarter, Boston College spent a lot of their time on SU’s side of the field.
The Eagles had three penalty corner opportunities in the second half that were shut down by Borzymowski. The Freshman finished with four saves on BC’s five shots on goal. Their lone goal came in the 45th minute when Margo Carlin, on a breakaway, lifted it up and over Borzymowski for the score.
Syracuse will continue their road stretch Wednesday at 4 pm as they will travel to face off against Cornell, a winnable non-conference game for the Orange. You can watch that game on ESPN+, or you can follow my Twitter for live updates.
@nickluttie | naluttre@syr.edu
