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Boston College Eagles women's soccer

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Boston College Eagles
2024 Boston College Eagles women's soccer team
Founded1977; 47 years ago (1977)
UniversityBoston College
Head coachChris Watkins (1st season)
ConferenceACC
LocationChestnut Hill, Massachusetts
StadiumNewton Campus Soccer Field
(Capacity: 2,000)
NicknameEagles
ColorsMaroon and gold[1]
   
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament College Cup
2010
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2009, 2010, 2013
NCAA Tournament Round of 16
1999, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
NCAA Tournament appearances
1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018

The Boston College Eagles women's soccer team represent Boston College in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The team has never won the ACC regular season championship, but has won the ECAC championship twice and shared the ACC regular season title once. The team has advanced to the NCAA Women's soccer tournament 19 times, including one College Cup appearance.

History

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1980s

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The Boston College women's soccer program enjoyed a rather successful start to their history under coach Mike LaVigne. LaVigne never lost more than 5 games during his tenure in the 1980s. He took the team to their first two NCAA Tournaments in 1982 and 1983. The team was also ranked in the top 10 in 1981–1984.[2] However, citing issues with then Athletic Director Mary Carson and the lack of a field for the 1983 NCAA Tournament, LaVigne resigned as head coach.[3] Susan Kaplan was hired as the new head coach and coached the team through the end of the decade. The team qualified for the NCAA tournament 2 times under Kaplan, in 1984 and 1985. Kaplan also guided the team to double digit wins in 4 of her 6 seasons in charge. The team won the ECAC championship in 1986 and 1988.[citation needed] Kaplan left the program in 1989.

1990s

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Terez Biancardi took over the program in 1990. The first two years of her tenure proved difficult, with the Eagles winning 6 and 7 games during those years. However, the next few years proved to be a return to form, with the team notching double digit wins in 1992–1994. In 1993 the team moved to the Big East Conference. This move was associated with Boston College becoming a full member of the conference. The first years were fairly successful, with the team finishing runners up in the 1994 Big East Tournament. However, their good run would not continue. The team failed to make the NCAA and Conference tournament in 1995 and 1996. After finishing both seasons with 9 wins, Biancardi would leave the program in 1996. Alison Foley was hired as the next head coach. The team won 12 games in 1998, her second season and 16 games in 1999. The team returned to the NCAA Tournament in 1999, losing in the first round. In 1999, Foley was awarded the NEWISA New England Coach of the Year Award.[4]

2000s

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Alison Foley continued to coach the team throughout the 2000s. The team enjoyed success during the decade, never losing more than 10 games, and notching double digit wins in each season. They made the NCAA Tournament 8 of the 10 years, and achieved their first quarterfinal appearance in 2009. Boston College decided to leave the Big East and join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 2003. The move took 2 years to complete, and starting in 2005, the Eagles began ACC competition.[5] The team's last season in the Big East, 2004, proved one of their best, as they finished 7–3 in conference play and made the semifinals of the conference tournament. The early years in the ACC were also positive, with the team finishing no lower than fifth in the conference between 2005 and 2010. The team won a share of the regular season title in 2009. The Eagles finished the decade strong, with their first and only College Cup appearance in 2010.

2010s

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The Eagles continued to enjoy some success in the 2010s, qualifying for the NCAA tournament in 5 years and the ACC Tournament 6 years. In 2014, they ended a streak of 11 straight NCAA appearances when they missed the tournament after a 10–8–1 season. This was on the heels of a 2013 season where they made the NCAA Quarterfinals for the third time in program history. Many of the Eagle's most famous players played for the team during this period, including Kristie Mewis who went on to play for the United States women's national soccer team. From 2014 to 2017, the Eagles experienced a bit of a downturn, never finishing above seventh in the ACC, and only making the NCAA tournament once. In 2017, they made the ACC tournament as the last invited team. 2018 was a turnaround year, where the team finished 14–4–1, qualifying for both the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament. They also won 10 straight games, tying a program record for most consecutive wins in a season. After the season, Alison Foley resigned as coach after 22 years.[6] There were some questions over the reasoning behind her resignation, as the team had 22 winning seasons under her, and made the NCAA Tournament 15 times during her tenure.[7] Jason Lowe was hired as the new coach in January 2019.[8] In Lowe's first year, the Eagles finished 14th in the ACC, their lowest ever. Their 1–8–1 record was also the program's worst ever ACC record.

2020s

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The decade started with a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. The team played an ACC fall season and a non-conference spring season. They finished 3–10–1 overall and did not qualify for the postseason. The team played a full 2021 season, finishing 7–10–1 overall and 1–9–0 in ACC play to finish in a tie for twelfth place. This marked the third straight year where the Eagles won only one conference game, and their 7 overall wins were the lowest in a full season since 1991. The team's fortunes did not improve in 2022, when they finished 5–8–5 overall and 1–7–2 in ACC play. This was the fourth straight year, and every year in Lowe's tenure, where the Eagles won only one conference game. The five overall wins were the lowest in a full season in program history until the next year in 2023 when the Eagles finished 3–9–6 overall. They also finished 0–6–4 in ACC play. The three wins and zero conference wins were program lows at the time and the six draws were a program high. Lowe was fired after the 2023 season[9] and replaced by Chris Watkins.[10]

Personnel

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Current roster

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As of 14 Sep 2024[11]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Olivia Shippee
1 GK Germany GER Wiebke Willebrandt
2 DF United States USA Jordan Teguis
3 MF United States USA Delaney Van Pelt
4 DF United States USA Sarai Costello
5 FW Canada CAN Aislin Streicek
6 DF United States USA Ava McNeil
7 MF United States USA Georgina Clarke
8 MF United States USA Bella Douglas
9 FW United States USA Sydney Segalla
10 MF United States USA Emily Sapienza
11 FW United States USA Ava Lung
12 DF United States USA Amalia Dray
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 DF United States USA Riley Prozzo
15 MF Canada CAN Ashley Roberts
16 MF United States USA Elly Slensky
18 DF United States USA Shea Boyle
20 MF United States USA Baylor Goldthwaite
21 FW United States USA Andi Barth
22 FW United States USA Ella Richards
23 DF United States USA Grace Courter
24 FW United States USA Paige Peltier
25 MF United States USA Sophia Lowenberg
28 MF United States USA Natalie Grosse
33 GK Canada CAN Faith Fenwick
30 GK United States USA Maya Cheeseboro

Team management

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Position Staff
Head coach Chris Watkins
Assistant Coach Whitney Pitalo
Assistant Coach Andrea Morrow
Assistant Coach Stephanie Demake
Volunteer Assistant Coach Paige Forster
Director of Operations Molly Abbott

Source:[11]

Seasons

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Season Head coach Season result[12] Tournament results
Overall Conference Conference NCAA
Wins Losses Ties Wins Losses Ties Finish
1980 Mike LaVigne 10 4 0
1981 8 5 1
1982 11 3 1 NCAA First Round
1983 15 5 0 NCAA Second Round
1984 Suzanne Kaplan 12 6 1 NCAA First Round
1985 13 5 1 NCAA Second Round
1986 11 6 2 Champions
1987 7 6 2
1988 12 7 1 Champions
1989 8 9 2
1990 Terez Biancardi 6 7 3
1991 7 7 1
1992 13 8 0
1993† 12 9 0 Semifinal
1994 10 8 1 Runner up
1995 9 7 2 4 4 0 5th
1996 9 8 0 4 5 0 6th
1997 Alison Foley 9 6 2 5 6 0 6th
1998 12 6 3 5 3 3 5th Semifinal
1999 16 7 1 2 2 1 3rd (Northeast) Semifinal NCAA First Round
2000 14 7 0 4 1 0 2nd (Northeast) Semifinal
2001 11 10 1 3 2 1 2nd (Northeast) Semifinal NCAA First Round
2002 11 8 1 4 2 0 3rd (Northeast) Quarterfinal
2003 15 3 3 3 2 1 2nd (Northeast) Runner up NCAA First Round
2004 15 7 1 7 3 0 4th Semifinal NCAA Third Round
2005^ 13 6 2 5 4 1 5th 1st round NCAA Third Round
2006 12 7 3 5 3 2 4th 1st round NCAA Third Round
2007 11 5 4 4 4 2 5th 1st round NCAA First Round
2008 15 6 2 6 3 1 3rd 2nd round NCAA Third Round
2009 18 4 2 7 2 1 Co-champions 2nd round NCAA Quarterfinals
2010 17 7 1 5 5 0 6th 1st round NCAA Semifinals
2011 12 6 3 6 4 0 3rd 1st round NCAA Third Round
2012 11 8 3 4 5 1 T-8th 1st round NCAA Second Round
2013 13 10 1 6 6 1 T-6th 1st round NCAA Quarterfinals
2014 10 8 1 3 6 1 10th
2015 11 7 2 5 3 2 7th NCAA First Round
2016 11 8 1 3 7 0 12th
2017 10 9 1 4 5 1 8th First round
2018 14 5 1 6 3 1 4th First round NCAA First Round
2019 Jason Lowe 8 8 2 1 8 1 14th
2020 3 10 1 1 7 0 11th
2021 7 10 1 1 9 0 T-12th
2022 5 8 5 1 7 2 14th
2023 3 9 6 0 6 4 13th

† In 1993 Boston College began play in the Big East Conference.
^ In 2005 Boston College began play in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Notable alumni

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Current Professional Players

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References

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  1. ^ "Boston College Athletics Style Guide" (PDF). May 1, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "Mike LaVigne Bio". bceagles.com. Boston College Athletics. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. ^ Short, Kelly (November 21, 1983). "Women's Soccer Coach Resigns". The Heights. Vol. LXV, no. 11. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  4. ^ "Alison Foley". bceagles.com. Boston College University. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  5. ^ Drape, Joe (October 13, 2003). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Boston College to Leave Big East and Join A.C.C." The New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  6. ^ "Alison Foley Resigns as Boston College Women's Soccer Head Coach". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. December 11, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  7. ^ Dell'Apa, Frank (December 14, 2018). "Why did Alison Foley depart Boston College so suddenly?". nesoccerjournal.com. New England Soccer Journal. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  8. ^ "BC Names Jason Lowe Women's Soccer Head Coach". bceagles.com. Boston College Athletics. January 9, 2019. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  9. ^ "Boston College Announces Change in Women's Soccer Leadership". bceagles.com. Boston College Athletics. October 31, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  10. ^ "Boston College Names Chris Watkins Head Women's Soccer Coach". bceagles.com. Boston College Athletics. December 14, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Women's Soccer Roster". bceagles.com. Boston College.
  12. ^ "Women's Soccer standings". The Atlantic Coast Conference. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2017.
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