Soccer Maintains Momentum, Draws No. 24 BC
NEWTON, Mass. – TheUniversity of Miami women’s soccer team wrapped up its final road trip of theregular season in solid fashion Sunday, earning a crucial point with ascoreless draw at No. 24 Boston College.
“Our players showed a lot of great character today. They grinded it out, and that’s what it’s all about,” head coach Tom Anagnost said.
With their third tie of the season, the Hurricanes (8-6-3,3-4-2 ACC) finished the difficult road trip with four of a possible six points.Miami opened the trip with a 1-0 overtime win over No. 7 Maryland at LudwigField.
Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Lillard made fives on theafternoon, improving her personal record to 6-6-3 in the decision. The Kansasnative has not allowed a goal in her past three starts, a stretch spanning 318minutes, three ranked opponents and two double-overtime draws.
Playing without some of the team’s most important offensivecontributors, the Canes threatened just before halftime but were unable toconvert. Shots from junior Tara Schwitter and senior Jordan Roseboro wereblocked ten minutes before the end of the period, while the Eagles’ defensedenied a chance on a late corner kick from Schwitter.
The Miami defense would hold firm despite a consistentoffensive attack from the Eagles, including three stops by Lillard in the firstten minutes of the second period.
Neither team was able to generate much momentum in the extraperiods, as the Hurricanes and Eagles traded unsuccessful corner kicks in thefirst overtime. Eagles’ goalkeeper Alexa Gaul made stops on Erin McGovern andAva Ambrose to preserve the scoreless draw at the final whistle.
Since an Oct. 11 defeat to then-No. 9 Virginia, Miami has seen some of the conference’s most talented offensive players come up empty; in Sunday’s scoreless draw, the Hurricanes successfully held Eagles’ midfielder Kristen Mewis in check. The senior entered the match-up ranked first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in points with 37.
Freshmen Allie Rossi and Shannon McCarthy were recognized by Coach Anagnost for stepping up in the place of veterans.
“I want to give a ton of credit to Allie and Shannon,” Anagnost said. “Both of them stepped in and played a full 110 minutes brilliantly. I’m very proud of both of them and this team as a whole.”
Miami wraps up its regular season with a showdown against No.1 Florida State Thursday at Cobb Stadium. Kickoff for the rivalry game is setfor 7 p.m.
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