Congrats to the Boston College men's soccer team which earned a 2-1 victory over #2 seeded Maryland in last night's ACC Quarterfinals matchup. The seventh seeded Eagles got two first half goals just four minutes apart from Diego Medina-Mendez (13') and Charlie Rugg (18') and took a 2-0 lead into the half.
Though Maryland's Casey Townsend cut the lead in half in the 47th minute of the second half, the BC defense was able to withstand a lot of pressure over the final 30 minutes from the defending ACC Champions to hold on for the victory. In the second half alone, BC was outshot 12-5 and Maryland enjoyed a 7-1 edge in corners.
Goalkeeper Justin Luthy made 5 saves on the day to seal the victory.
The win over the 2nd seeded Terps marks the fifth straight year that the Eagles have advanced to the ACC Men's Soccer Championship Semifinals. In each of the last three seasons, BC has been bounced in the ACC semifinals by a score of 1-0 (North Carolina in 2010, N.C. State in 2009 and Maryland in 2008). The first year the Eagles advanced to the Semifinals -- 2007 -- they won it all for the school's first and only ACC championship to date, notching victories over Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
The Eagles next face the third seeded Duke Blue Devils, who advanced over #6 Clemson 5-4 in shootouts. BC won the regular season meeting with Duke 2-1 in double OT late last month. In other Quarterfinals action, fourth seeded Virginia got past Wake Forest in double OT, while top-seeded North Carolina handled 8th ranked N.C. State easily, winning 4-0. Full tournament bracket here.
Both ACC Semifinals will be played this Friday, November 11 down in Cary, N.C. The Eagles will face the Blue Devils in the second game starting at 7:30 (ESPN3.com), while North Carolina and Virginia square off in the first semifinal (5:30, ESPN3.com).
Should BC advance to the Championship Game, it will be played on Sunday, November 13 at noon on ESPNU.
Go Eagles!