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Boston College field hockey opens up its regular season this afternoon in Hamden, CT when they take on the Quinnipiac Bobcats at 1 PM.
The Eagles come in to the season ranked #8 in the country... though this ranking has them #7 out of 7 teams in the ACC... because ACC. Last year, BC went 1-5 in ACC play, but their 13-9 overall record was good enough to make the NCAA tournament. BC topped Albany in the first round before bowing out to UConn in the Elite Eight.
Emily McCoy, a star on last year’s team, is back for her senior year, and was named preseason all-ACC. She’ll be called upon to key the BC offense, along with twin sister forward Eryn McCoy. With two of BC’s other leading scorers graduating after last season, they’ll be asked to carry a heavier load.
Last season, BC topped Quinnipiac 4-0 at home when the two teams met early in the season. Emily McCoy had two assists in the effort, as BC cruised, outshooting QU 19-9.
After today's game, BC heads to Lancaster, PA for the ACC-Big Ten challenge next weekend, where they will face two tough tests: Northwestern and Maryland. The gauntlet continues the following weekend against Syracuse and Stanford, before BC returns home for their home opener September 16 against perennial power North Carolina.
All this is a long-winded way of saying that BC will certainly be looking to get off to a flying start today to give them momentum heading into the brutal upcoming schedule.
You can watch today’s field hockey opener at 1 PM via Quinnipiac here.