Boston College Women’s Soccer Kicks Off Tonight at Providence

Led by all-ACC preseason team forward McKenzie Meehan, the Boston College women’s soccer team takes flight tonight in the first regular season sporting event of the season for any BC team. The Eagles will travel to Providence to take on the Friars tonight at 7.

Boston College returned to the NCAA tournament last season, posting an 11-7-2 mark before being eliminated by Princeton in the tournament’s opening round. It was a bounce-back season for the women’s soccer team - one of BC’s most consistent programs in recent years, but one that suffered an unexpected setback in 2014 when Meehan had a season-ending injury over the summer. That fall, BC went 9-9-1 and missed the tournament for the first time in 13 seasons.

The Eagles will be expected to make the tournament again this year, as they return their two top scorers - Meehan and Hayley Dowd - in addition to several other key starters. On top of that, BC is adding a highly-touted 11-woman freshman class that was ranked #5 in the nation by Top Drawer Soccer.

BC was picked #8 in the preseason ACC coaches poll, and is in the "also receiving votes" category nationally. If the freshmen provide a boost right away and Meehan and Dowd continue with the form they had last season, the Eagles could find themselves in the national mix.

Tonight's matchup is against familiar foe Providence, who went 13-8-1 last season. BC lost to Providence 3-2 last September, ending a two-year winning streak against the Friars.

On Sunday, BC hosts their home opener against Arizona State at 1 PM. The Sun Devils went 9-8-1 last fall.