In their regular-season finale on April 17, our No. 2 Boston College Eagles rolled to a 17–2 victory over the No. 14 Syracuse Orange. Boston College jumped out early and never looked back, finishing the regular season with a 15–1 record (8–1 ACC), while Syracuse fell to 9–7 (5–4 ACC) with the loss. The game was one-sided from start to finish, as the Eagles controlled each period.
BC came out firing on all cylinders in the opening quarter. Molly Driscoll put the Eagles on the board first, and the goals kept coming from there. By the end of the period, BC had piled up seven goals and held a commanding 7–0 lead. Star attacker Rachel Clark fueled the early attack, scoring three times in the first quarter alone. Emma LoPinto added two goals of her own in the period, while Mckenna Davis and Driscoll each chipped in a goal as well.
The Eagles defense also made its presence felt early, pressuring the Orange into turnovers and limiting their quality chances. Whenever Syracuse did manage a shot on target, BC goalie Shea Dolce was there to make the stop.
The Eagles continued to control the game in the second quarter, though the scoring pace slowed a bit. Rachel Clark stayed hot with two more goals in the period and Mckenna Davis fired in a goal of her own off a feed from LoPinto. Those three goals extended the Eagles lead to 10–0 by halftime.
On the other side, Syracuse struggled to generate any offense against the Eagles’ back line. BC’s defense held the Orange scoreless through the entire first half, as Shea Dolce continued to shine. Dolce stopped every shot that came her way in the half, making several saves and leaving Syracuse’s shooters frustrated. Clark’s second goal late in the quarter put the Eagles up by double digits and even triggered a running clock for the remainder of the game under the 10-goal lead rule.
After the break, the Eagles picked up right where they left off. Freshman Devon Russell opened the third-quarter scoring, and moments later Rachel Clark tallied yet another goal to push the lead to 12–0. The Eagles pressure finally eased at the 3:48 mark of the third, when Syracuse freshman Caroline Trinkaus found a hole and scored the Orange’s first goal of the night.
That lone Syracuse goal ended a 41-minute shutout stretch by the BC defense. However, any flicker of Orange momentum was quickly put down, just over a minute later, BC defender Shea Baker scooped up the ensuing draw control and raced to the goal, answering with a score to make it 13–1. Baker’s quick response restored the Eagles’ 12-goal lead, and the third quarter closed with Eagles firmly in command.
The final period saw the Eagles keep their foot on the gas despite the score. Kylee Colbert found the net early in the fourth, and Rachel Clark added an additional two goals in the quarter, bringing her total to eight goals on the night. Clark’s offensive explosion marked a new season-high for her and put the game out of reach. Syracuse managed one last goal when Carlie Desimone scored with about three and a half minutes remaining, giving Syracuse their only second goal of the game.
But the Eagles answered yet again: with just over a minute left, Mia Mascone tacked on one final goal for BC, capping the dominant performance at 17–2.
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