Syracuse advances to ACC semifinals, dominates Boston College in 6-2 win
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Lana Hamilton got a long entry pass into the Boston College zone with seven minutes remaining in the game. Hamilton found fellow midfielder Joy Haarman posted up in the 25-yard box, where Haarman took the pass, pivoted to her left and fired a shot past BC goalie Emily Gillespie. Haarman gave the Orange a 4-2 advantage, a lead that only continued to grow.
Haarman’s goal was part of a Syracuse (15-4, 3-3 Atlantic Coast) domination against Boston College (8-10, 3-3 ACC) in the 6-2 conference quarterfinals win. After a back-and-forth first half, the Orange outscored the Eagles 3-0 in the second half with their relentless offensive pursuit. The win sets up an ACC semifinals matchup against North Carolina, whom the Orange lost to 6-1 earlier this season.
After a slow start, SU’s offense began to produce at the end of the first quarter. With less than two minutes to go in the first and down 1-0, Orange forward Quirine Comans weaved through the back end and took the ball herself into the BC zone. She rocketed a forehand shot while falling to her right and the ball ricocheted off the BC goalie, finding the back of the net for her 15th goal of the season to tie the match at one apiece heading into the second quarter.
Both teams began to utilize a full-field press in the second quarter. SU was having a particularly difficult time fending off the press from BC early on. It could not find many scoring opportunities and made rushed decisions with the ball which caused numerous turnovers for the Eagles. But once the Orange got past the press and deep into opposing territory, they got back on the board.
Midway through the second quarter, Haarman was positioned along the BC goal line and quickly bulleted an entry pass in front of the net. Charlotte De Vries was lined up in perfect position close to the goal, tipping the pass from Haarman into the back of the net creating Syracuse’s first lead of the day. The score was De Vries’ 12th goal of the season. The goal also marked the first multi-goal first half for Syracuse since Sept. 25, when they scored two goals against Dartmouth.
Just a few minutes later, Boston College evened the score. BC’s Mia Garber took the ball into the SU zone and made a pass to forward Milagros Arteta. Initially, Arteta whiffed on her shot opportunity, but she got her own rebound and sliced it through Brooke Borzymowski’s legs for the score. Arteta’s resilient goal scoring effort was the last time Boston College appeared on the score sheet.
In the 27th minute, the Orange’s aggressiveness on the offensive end drew a penalty corner. The insertion pass went to De Vries, who fed SU back Eefke van den Nieuwenhof. The back then flipped the ball up high, entering the top left of the net for a lead taking goal.
From there, it was a breeze for the Orange. The second half was pure obliteration as BC looked gassed throughout. Its defense was constantly fending off SU scoring opportunities and trying to break the press that Ange Bradley’s squad exhibited. The Orange outshot the Eagles 24-15 and had the opposition on their heels for the full latter half.
The game was put completely out of reach 4:26 into the fourth quarter. At the time, Syracuse held a one-woman advantage due to a yellow card from BC’s Garber. SU had pushed the ball into the Boston College zone, where midfielder Laura Graziosi found none other than Comans to the left of the net. Comans sent a hard shot between the legs of Gillespie for her second goal of the day and 16th of the year. The Orange then held a 5-2 lead. But just two minutes later, forward Sabine van den Eijnden found midfielder Willemijn Boogert in front of the net. Boogert was on her knees prepared for the tip-in and she did just that, giving Syracuse a four-goal lead.