The Syracuse Orange have traveled east for their regular season finale with the Boston College Eagles tonight at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill.
This game is an exercise in dueling streaks facing-off as the Orange enter the day having won 12 straight games but having lost eight straight in the series to the Eagles.
Opening draw for the Senior Night showdown is set for 5:30 on ESPN U.
Season so far
Boston College is having an underwhelming season by their lofty standards.
The Eagles come into the regular season finale with a record of 8-6 overall and 5-4 in the ACC.
Like ‘Cuse, BC began their season 0-3 with losses to Northwestern, Notre Dame and Michigan. They bounced back with conference wins over Florida State and Clemson before a shocking, 17-6 loss to Duke in early March that dropped them to 2-4 on the season.
They responded with a three-game winning streak over Cal, Harvard and Pitt before getting stampeded by North Carolina’s offense in a 21-12 loss.
After that, they picked up their best win of the year with a 13-11 victory over previously unbeaten, No. 2-ranked Stanford. They turned that into their second three-game winning streak with subsequent wins over UAlbany and Loyola before a 17-14 loss to Virginia over the weekend. That game was essentially a must-win for the Cavs if they wanted to mathematically be eligible for the NCAA Tournament, and they played like it.
Scouting Boston College
The Eagles have lots of talent, as they always do, but they suffered significant graduation losses from last year’s team, particularly on offense. BC lost their top four scorers, the top three of which were all 100+ point producers, who combined to account for nearly 70 percent of the team’s scoring.
As a result, their offense, usually one of the best in the country, is producing much less than they normally do. They currently rank No. 38 nationally in scoring offense at 12.86 goals per game. Their defense has actually struggled even more, ranking No. 70 nationally in scoring defense at 11.29 goals-against per game.
Offensively, their best attributes are that they take care of the ball at No. 6 nationally with 11.14 turnovers per game, and they’re an excellent free-position taking team at No. 7 with a .559 free-position percent. They do a decent job generating shots, ranking No. 25 in shots per game (30.4) and tied for No. 30 in shots on goal per game (21.71). They also rank No. 57 in shooting percentage (.423).
They have a solid draw control unit that ranks No. 45 with a .536 win percentage.
Names to Know
Junior attacker Molly Driscoll leads the charge for the BC offense, scoring a team-leading 47 points and 19 assists this season to go along with 28 goals. North Carolina transfer Marissa White paces the team with 35 goals and 44 points, followed closely by sophomore midfielder Giulia Colarusso with 32 goals and 41 points.
Junior midfielder Kylee Colbert has 25 goals and 32 points, while older sister Casey Colbert is a Stony Brook graduate transfer who’s second on the team with 18 assists in her lone year with the Eagles.
Redshirt freshman Hanna Davis is the younger sister of McKenna Davis, who was one of the 100+ point scorers who graduated after last season and is one of the most productive and dangerous passers in program history. Hanna is having a very well-balanced year of 29 points on 16 goals and 13 assists, while shooting .533 percent.
Sophomore Avery Hudson and freshman Lily Kondas round out the double-digit scorers for the Eagles with 21 and 16 points, respectively.
Their draw unit is led by specialist Abbey Herod, who leads the team with 69 draw controls. She’s flanked by a solid group of circle players in Giulia Colarusso (47 DC), Shea Baker (30 DC) and Avery Hudson (24 DC).
The BC defense is not having as dominant a season as usual, but they are still led by a pair of superstars in senior goalie Shea Dolce and senior defender Shea Baker.
Baker has been a lockdown cover defender since her freshman year, and she leads the Eagles with 23 caused turnovers and 22 ground balls, in addition to her work on draws.
Likewise, Dolce has been one of the best goalies in the country since she took over the starting job early in her freshman season. Last year, she was the First Team All-American net-minder across the voting groups. This year, her numbers are a little down, but she’s still undoubtedly one of the best in the game. She’s made 117 saves this year with an 11.28 goals-against average and a .432 save percentage.
