Lachowecki Scores Four in OT Defeat at BC
NEWTON, Mass. – Junior forward Gracie Lachowecki scored a program record-tying four goals for the University of Miami soccer team Sunday afternoon at Boston College, but it was not enough.
Miami (5-11-0, 2-7-0 ACC) led 4-2 in the second half, but the Eagles stormed back to force overtime at Newton Soccer Field and then earned the victory, 5-4, in the 93rd minute.
Despite the defeat, Lachowecki became the first player in the ACC this season to tally four goals in a match and she did so all in the first 60 minutes.
“Gracie had an unbelievable game today,” Miami head coach Mary-Frances Monroe said. “To score four goals is a wonderful accomplishment, especially playing in the ACC, on top of it being on the road. The team followed our game plan, but came up short.”
Boston College (11-6-1, 5-3-1 ACC) struck first, as junior forward Hayley Dowd tallied the opening goal in the seventh minute against the run of play. Redshirt junior forward McKenzie Meehan and senior midfielder Jana Jeffrey were credited with assists on the play.
Just over four minutes after the Eagles went in front, Miami pulled level. Freshman midfielder/defender Niccola Venezia logged her second assist of the season, finding Lachowecki, who beat redshirt freshman goalkeeper Alexis Bryant in the 11th minute.
Lachowecki scored again in the 22nd minute to give Miami the lead and reach double-digit goals on the season. Venezia, who recorded the first multiple-point match of her career, played her a through ball off a loose ball and Lachowecki found the back of the net.
The Evansville, Ind. native earned her second-career hat trick in just the 27th minute, scoring on a back chip over an Eagles defender. Senior midfielder/defender Natalie Moik was credited with her team-leading seventh assist of the year on the goal.
After Miami held an 8-2 edge in shot attempts, the BC attack picked up and the Eagles were able to score before the break. Dowd earned her second goal of the match in the 34th minute when she headed in a corner kick by redshirt freshman midfielder Shea Newman.
The scoring barrage continued in the second half, with Miami tallying the first goal after the break. Lachowecki registered her first-career four-goal match when she beat new BC goalkeeper Alexandra Johnson, a redshirt senior, in the 59th minute. Miami redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Catalina Perez was credited with the first assist of her career on the play.
Once again, the Eagles would not relent, equalizing in the 64th minute on a penalty kick by Meehan. They then pulled level in the 86th minute when freshman midfielder Gaby Carreiro finished off a pass from Meehan.
Perez made a save with 14 seconds left in regulation to help send the match to overtime. It marked the sixth time this season, including fifth time in the last seven outings, Miami went to extra time.
Meehan scored her second goal of the match when she received the ball from Dowd off a corner kick by Newman. Her golden goal two minutes and 20 seconds into the overtime session gave the Eagles a 5-4 victory. The match had a combined 44 shot attempts, including 19 on goal.
Sunday’s contest was the first time in Miami’s six overtime matches the affair did not go to a second frame of extra time. It was also the first time all season the Hurricanes allowed greater than four goals and the second time they scored at least four in a match.
Lachowecki is just the eighth player in the nation to tally four goals in a match against a Division I opponent in 2015. She now has a dozen goals this season, three times as many as Miami’s 2014 leader, Moik, recorded.
The only other time a Hurricane has scored four goals in a match was when Jennifer Sanchez did so against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 10, 1999.
“We . . . had more dangerous chances, but weren’t able to finish the game out with a win,” Monroe said. “We will prepare for our last home game and celebrate our seniors.”
Miami will wrap up the 2015 season Saturday on Halloween night when it hosts ninth-ranked North Carolina (13-3-1, 6-3-0 ACC) at Cobb Stadium at 7 p.m. It will be senior night for Moik, Ava Ambrose, Erin McGovern, Jasmine Paterson, and Amy Schmidt.
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