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Still The One - Victoria DiMartino Was Golden on Thursday With Boston College's Extra Time Winner Against Maryland

Maryland 1 (Brock 9′) – 2 (Own Goal 88′, DiMartino 98′) Boston College [aet]

Boston College escaped College Park with a stunning smash and grab win after looking like they were headed to their first defeat of the season with just three minutes left to play in regulation. The Eagles had fallen behind early in the first half despite outshooting their opponents at a 2:1 ratio and had looked like they were losing momentum for part of the second half. But Kristen Mewis’ deflection came off a Terp in the box, and Boston College suddenly had life again. Victoria DiMartino would do what she does best off the bench, tapping in a long delivery from Casey Morrison in the first half of extra time to stun the crowd. This was the type of win that inevitably wins teams titles at the end of seasons. The Eagles just found a way to win at the end of the night and are now 2-0-0 in the league with wins over two of the conference’s title contenders. For whatever reason, DiMartino continues to come off the bench, but she’s a big hitter no matter if she starts or not and was the spark at the end again on this night. It says a lot that BC had six shots on goal, and DiMartino was behind four of them despite just playing fifty-three minutes. This was a big win, but there’s still work to be done with a tricky tie at Virginia Tech to round out the weekend.

Though the margin of defeat on the scoreboard was much less, this was a much more devastating loss than last week’s defeat to Virginia. The Terps had looked to have had three points in the bag before the stunning late collapse. The team had started so well through Brock’s opener, and the Penn State transfer had five of the team’s twelve shots, but Maryland just couldn’t find the second goal that would’ve likely put this one to bed. BC did a great job in shutting down most of Maryland’s impact attackers like Olivia Wagner, Danielle Hubka, and Sade Ayinde and Ashley Grove from off the bench. This team is still clearly missing Jasmyne Spencer up front and are just plain inconsistent up top without her. The defense was victimized by some bad bounces, but it’s the spotty offense that is really hurting this squad right now. UM’s got a must-win against NC State on Sunday, followed by another game they really need against Clemson next week. The Terps’ RPI isn’t that hot right now, meaning Maryland’s likely gotta win a couple of big ACC games if they don’t want to sweat come November.

Duke 3 (Pathman 19′, Cobb 20′, Weinberg 87′) – 0 Miami (FL)

Duke’s young trio of superstar forwards continued to shine on Thursday night as they blew away Miami behind a goal from each of the three. Kelly Cobb shined brightest for the victors with the team’s second goal and assists on Duke’s other two goals. The Blue Devils in truth were barely troubled with their overmatched opponents, scoring a pair of goals within two minutes in the first half and then not looking back from there. Duke outshot their opponents 11-0 in the first half and only allowed a single shot on goal the entire night. It was a frighteningly efficient display from the Blue Devils, as they offense continues to purr. This team has now scored at least two goals in five straight matches, and seventeen overall in their last five games as well. The scary part is that this Duke team is still very young and could get even deadlier as the year progresses. Clemson on Sunday should be nothing more than speed bump, setting up a massive game against Virginia next Thursday at home.

Miami was outclassed from whistle to whistle. The Hurricanes aren’t as bad as some thought they might be at the beginning of the year, but they ran into a machine on Thursday. There can’t be any hangover though, or the same thing will happen to the Canes on Sunday against Wake Forest. Somewhere along the line, you’ve gotta figure this Miami (FL) team needs an upset to make it into the ACC Tournament come November.

UC Irvine 3 (Kopf 22′, 50′, Goodson 88′) – 1 (Frisbie PK 86′) Portland

After a tough stretch of three matches without a win had dimmed their star a bit, UC Irvine shined again on Thursday night with a convincing 3-1 win that keeps their at-large bid hopes alive while dragging Portland back into the bubble mire. After withstanding some major pressure early on from the Pilots, Lexi Kopf would send the record crowd into joy with the match’s opening goal, prodding home after Hailee DeYoung had saved from Natalia Ledezma’s initial shot. Kopf would double the lead after latching onto a ball from Judy Christopher early in the second half. After conceding a penalty late that halved the lead, CoCo Goodson would make amends by heading home from Ledezma’s free kick delivery to wrap up the win. This was an absolute must have for Irvine, who are still battling on the bubble at the moment. This team has some elite talent on it like Ledezma and Goodson, while also boasting some rising stars like Kopf and goalkeeper Jennifer Randazzo. The Anteaters did well to do just enough to shut down the Pilots’ improving attack while making the absolute most of their chances in front of goal. The win keeps the Anteaters alive in the at-large race (and gives them a potential big bubble win), but they still likely need to get something out of Sunday’s trip to San Diego to keep rolling. If they play as they did tonight, they’ve got a great chance of making that happen.

Back to the drawing board for Portland, who’s increasingly looking like a good team at home but a subpar one away from the comforts of Merlo Field. Portland has STILL not scored in the run of play away from home, with Amanda Frisbie’s penalty being the team’s first goal period when not at Merlo. Obviously, that’s a big problem with trips to Provo, Los Angeles, and Malibu ahead in the Pilots’ WCC schedule. It’s not all on the offense though. This was the first time UP’s given up three goals in a game since 2007′s Elite Eight defeat to UCLA, while also being the first time they gave up three in the regular season since the 3-2 loss to Santa Clara in 2006. The defense is leaking goals at an alarming rate right now, having not kept a clean sheet since the second game of the season against Washington State, also the only clean sheet for the team this year. With such defensive frailties, this UP team needs to be banging in goals at a big rate, which plainly isn’t happening right now. Cal State Northridge is a must win for RPI purposes before a massive clash with BYU in the WCC opener. It’s looking increasingly like a real bubble battle for Portland this year, and improvement on both sides of the ball is needed if the Pilots are to extend their NCAA Tournament qualification streak.

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