No. 9 Syracuse clinches ACC Tournament berth with 3-1 win vs. BC
With its 3-1 victory over Boston College, No. 9 Syracuse clinched an ACC Tournament berth for the 13th consecutive year. Keenan Sawada | Contributing Photographer
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Syracuse has historically dominated Boston College. In 42 tries, ahead of Friday’s contest, the Orange have downed the Eagles 28 times. It’s the second-most wins they have against any opponent, just five shy of their 33 victories over Cornell.
Yet, despite carrying a two-game win streak into last year’s clash with then-No. 9 BC, SU ended its regular season with a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the Eagles. Boston College’s Madelieve Drion scored an unassisted goal in the 59th minute to secure a road victory over the Orange and improve its conference record to 6-2.
This year, however, the Eagles are a shell of their 2024 selves, representing the only Atlantic Coast Conference team without a win in conference play. Coming off a last-second loss to then-No. 2 North Carolina last weekend, Syracuse needed a get-right game ahead of the ACC Tournament. Friday’s battle in Chestnut Hill gave it the perfect opportunity.
Syracuse (11-4, 3-4 ACC) took full advantage of the get-right game, downing Boston College (5-10, 0-7 ACC) 3-1 Friday night behind goals from Aubrey Turner, Lieke Leeggangers and Liz Stange. With the win, the Orange clinched an ACC Tournament berth for the 13th straight year.
Despite their 4-3 loss to UNC last Friday, the Orange’s attack shined in the first quarter. Bo van Kempen and Hattie Madden notched two goals within a five-minute span, giving SU a 2-1 lead after 12 minutes.
On Friday at Boston College, however, it was a different story. Syracuse’s ball movement was clean with limited turnovers, but it struggled to create scoring chances.
While she entered Friday with only one assist this season, Aiden Drabick directed traffic and weaved through defenders at will in the first quarter. Her strong ball-handling skills gave the Orange momentum toward the waning minutes of the frame. Syracuse continued to play small ball, and a BC foot foul led to SU’s first penalty corner of the game.
van Kempen’s forte has been the penalty corner in 2025, with 14 of her 19 goals coming that way, but her shot went right to Eagles goalie Carine Van Weichen.
The reason for Syracuse’s lack of offensive production early? BC’s Mia Garber. From breaking up passes to strong penalty corner defense, Garber kept the Eagles in the game through the first 20 minutes.
As Drabick slowly dribbled down into Boston College territory, she found Ally Snyder in scoring position. Snyder initially couldn’t convert, and BC’s stout defense held up when Garber stymied Pati Strunk on an ensuing penalty corner.
But SU’s offensive inefficiencies wouldn’t last.
After a BC turnover, van Kempen stormed down the field, multiple steps ahead of any Eagle defenders. Her aerial landed perfectly outside the crease, where Turner backhanded it into the net for her fifth goal of the season — and first since Sept. 7.
Just 36 seconds later, off another Boston College turnover, Turner found a streaking Leeggangers, who nearly fell to the grass as she rifled the ball out of Van Weichen’s reach to extend Syracuse’s lead.
Leeggangers’ goal was reviewed for being a potentially dangerous shot, but the score ultimately stood, doubling Syracuse’s advantage.
Replacing Willemijn Boogert was always going to be a tall task, but with her recent success, Leeggangers has filled the void admirably. After scoring just one goal through SU’s first 13 games, she has two in as many games.
Everything was in the Orange’s favor heading into the second half. SU was 6-2 this season after leading at halftime. BC, on the other hand, was 0-6 after trailing at halftime.
Even though Boston College’s physicality increased in the third quarter, its shot creation remained stagnant. Syracuse’s tenacious defense kept the Eagles’ attack at bay, limiting it to no shots on goal throughout the frame.
Nearing the four-minute mark, Stange dribbled in and out of traffic before scoring via a backward flick. Playmaking has been Stange’s primary role this season, and she hadn’t scored since Aug. 31, but she fooled Eagle defenders for her second goal of the campaign.
Despite SU’s 6-2 record after leading at halftime, it’s struggled in the fourth quarter recently. The Orange squandered a 3-2 lead against UNC, leading to Charly Bruder’s game-winning goal. Even in its win over Stanford on Oct. 10, SU was on the brink of losing its 2-1 advantage late in the fourth.
Friday’s game looked to be following a similar trend. Syracuse’s slow-ball movement led to an aggressive Boston College attack, which peppered its backline with four shots in the quarter.
The Eagles continuously threatened before Drion’s backhand went through the outstretched arms of Tane King, cutting their deficit to 3-1.
However, Boston College wouldn’t build on Drion’s tally, and SU broke its two-game ACC skid. While the score doesn’t reflect how close the game became, Syracuse’s balanced scoring was an encouraging sign that it won’t need to always rely on van Kempen.
