No. 2-seed Duke field hockey falls in shootout to Boston College in ACC tournament semifinals

With 35 seconds left in the second overtime period of the ACC tournament semifinal game, a shot ricocheted off of junior Alaina McVeigh and into the back of the goal, sending Duke cheering in celebration of a return to the ACC championship. But the stadium’s cheers quickly faded as the play went under review. After minutes of anticipation, the goal was called back as the deflection was deemed to be off McVeigh's foot. The game would to to a shootout. 

Following a 2-0 result from a penalty shootout, No. 2-seed Duke fell to No. 3-seed Boston College Wednesday evening in Winston-Salem, N.C., ending the Blue Devils’ run in the 2024 ACC tournament. Duke beat Wake Forest on the same field the day prior in the tournament’s quarterfinals, and were hoping to face-off against rival and top-seeded North Carolina in the final for the second year in a row. 

McVeigh started the penalty shootout. Her shot was blocked by the Eagles’ Charlotte Kramer, the ACC Goalie of the Year. Boston College’s first shot was also saved, as Kiki de Bruijne could not get past Duke’s Kaiya Chepow. Another miss by the Blue Devils’ Logan Clouser was followed by the first goal by the Eagles’ Yani Zhong. Two more misses from Charlie van Oirschot and Mia Garber, respectively, preceded the match’s final play: a Boston College goal by Martina Giacchino.

Even with Chepow putting up two great saves in the shootout, the other Blue Devils were not able to score against the decorated Kramer. It was clear Boston College was confident in its ability to secure the win in a shootout, as it drove the ball to the corner of the field to drain the clock during the golden-goal overtime periods.

Kramer’s talent was apparent even before the shootout, as she had five saves, holding Duke to one goal despite having nine shots and 10 corners. The Blue Devils put up a good fight, only allowing the Eagles to tally three shots and three corners. 

The first half of the match was scoreless, with very few stats on the scoreboard. Three minutes into the third quarter, Duke senior Kira Curland broke the streak, scoring her second goal of the season and putting the Blue Devils ahead 1-0, which was the final score of the two teams’ previous matchup two weeks prior. Seven minutes later, Boston College answered Duke’s goal with its own, as freshman Madelief Grandjean scored off of an assist from Garber and Juliette Hijdra, stopping history from repeating itself. The fourth quarter was scoreless yet again, as were both 10-minute overtime periods.

Although their run in the ACC tournament has ended, the Blue Devils will compete in the NCAA tournament later this month. The selection show will be Sunday at 10 p.m., which will reveal the team’s schedule. The tournament’s first round will take place Nov. 15, giving Duke about a week to prepare as it comes off a semifinal loss last year against Northwestern.