Duke field hockey outlasts Boston College in dramatic shootout in top-10 road matchup

Redshirt sophomore Sammi Steele turned Boston College away with nine saves in 100 minutes of play Friday.
Redshirt sophomore Sammi Steele turned Boston College away with nine saves in 100 minutes of play Friday.

With conference play in full swing, the Blue Devils continued to show their grit through a grueling ACC slate loaded with nationally-ranked opponents.

No. 2 Duke opened its weekend campaign in Massachusetts with a 3-2 win in a penalty shootout against No. 9 Boston College in Newton, Mass., at the Boston College Field Hockey complex. Despite a relentless Eagle offense, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sammi Steele held the back line with nine saves in 100 minutes, keeping the Blue Devils in the game long enough to send it to a shootout.

Both keepers shut down the opening shootout attempts and Steele notched one more stop before the Blue Devils found an upper hand on a goal from junior Rose Tynan. Although Caroline McGovern followed up by converting for the Eagles, senior Alexa Mackintire again put Duke one shot ahead. Boston College made one more successful shot before junior Erin Scherrer punched her shot off Dwyer into the back of the net for the game-winner and Steele sealed the victory with one last stop.

Although Duke (8-1, 2-1 in the ACC) jumped to an early lead when Tynan capitalized on assists from Mackintire and senior Ainsley Gill to put the Blue Devils on the board in the fourth minute, Boston College (7-4, 0-4) flipped the script and pushed the attack right back to them. Duke endured six unanswered shots from the Eagles before McGovern found a way past Steele to level the score 1-1.

With both teams trading blows through a first period and combining for 16 shots, the Blue Devils finally found an advantage in the final minute of the opening period. Senior Alyssa Chillano attempted a shot on goal off a corner but was shut down by Eagle goalkeeper Sarah Dwyer. But Scherrer swooped in to collect on the rebound, putting Duke in front 2-1 heading into the locker room.

However, Boston College would not let Duke get away despite the Blue Devils’ best efforts.

In the 48th minute, Alesandra Miller cut through Duke's defense to level the score again at 2-2. Although the Blue Devils would get two more shots in before overtime, the Eagles controlled the ball through the closing minutes of the period, attempting back-to-back shots blocked by Steele.

With the match continuing into overtime, Boston College doubled down on its offensive intensity. 

Duke endured five shots and two corners in the first 15-minute extra session, then went silent on offense for the second period in overtime. The Eagles outshot the Blue Devils 7-0 in double overtime to try and close out the match, but Steele refused to give up any ground, notching six saves through 30 extra minutes to bring the match to a shootout—Duke’s first since 2013.

The Blue Devils will continue their weekend on the road against No. 22 Boston University Sunday at 1 p.m. for a nonconference matchup.

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