BC women’s soccer came into their Sunday afternoon match in a crowded tie for fourth in the ACC with four other teams including the Clemson Tigers. The Eagles were hungry not only to pass the Tigers in the conference standings, but for a victory to shake off their first loss of the season last time out against Wake Forest. They bounced back from that loss to salvage the weekend trip with a 2-1 win in South Carolina powered by a pair of goals from junior forward Olivia Vaughn.
The first half saw the Eagles struggling to set up attacks as the Clemson defense repeatedly picked off midfield passes to set up counterattacks. BC drew only one corner kick in the first period, and took only three shots. Alexis Bryant made three first half saves and BC made into halftime with a scoreless game.
Second half play was more back and forth, with the Eagles creating more offensive opportunities. Clemson’s goal came at 69:18 off a header by Mackenzie Smith just inside the near post. The BC squad showed a familiar resilience, regrouping quickly to even the score at the 72:17 mark when Olivia Vaughn drilled a 20-yard goal for her sixth of the season. With both teams attacking with urgency in the final 15 minutes, Olivia Vaughn came up big with another goal at 82:08. Sam Coffey fed Vaughn just outside the box and Vaughn regained possession after a brief contest from the goalkeeper to punch it in. The Eagle defense had a few scares in the final minutes, including a Coffey yellow card foul and a pair of corner kicks, but was able to withstand the pressure and come away with the road win.
The victory brings BC’s record to 11-1 (3-1 ACC). The Eagles now return home for a pair of games on Newton Campus this week; they will face Virginia Tech at 7PM on Thursday and #21 North Carolina State at 1PM on Sunday.