Sutton's Goal Pushes No. 12 Virginia Past Boston College
Oct. 22, 2017
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Montana Sutton (Bedminster, N.J.) hit her third goal of the season on Sunday afternoon to lift No. 12 Virginia (10-3-4, 5-1-3 ACC) to a 2-1 win over Boston College (9-8-1, 3-5-1 ACC) at the Newton Soccer Complex.
With the win, the Cavaliers took the lead in the all-time series with Boston College 8-7-2. Virginia has now won six straight matches in the series.
Playing a man down in a deadlocked match, Betsy Brandon (Littleton, Colo.) sent a cross back into the box near the end line to a crashing Sutton who hit the game-winning strike from 15 yards out.
Goalkeeper Laurel Ivory (Surfisde, Fla.) improved to 10-3-4 on the season as she tied a career-high with four saves against the Eagles, including a critical save in the 81st minute that kept Virginia in the lead.
“Obviously, we were presented with some challenges today being on the road, down a goal and for the last part of the second half down a player, but I’m really proud of the way the team responded to win the game,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “Boston College is a strong, organized team. They are hard to break down and have some good attacking weapons.
After a stalemate through the first 45 minutes, the second half saw a flurry of activity as the two sides sought to gain the edge.
Boston College got on the board in the 51st minute when Jenna Bike got a one-on-one chance and fired a shot past across the face of the goal and in past the far post. Sam Coffey played the ball across the field over the top of the defense to Bike. The Eagle midfielder got the ball near the top corner of the box and took her shot to give Boston College the lead.
Virginia got the equalizer in the 58th minute off a strike from 18 yards out by Torres. Hana Kerner (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) sent the ball into the box where Megan Reid (Orinda, Calif.) played the ball back to Torres at the top of the box. The freshman midfielder delivered the strike up and to the left of the keeper to knot the score at a goal each.
The Hoos had to play a man down through the final 18 minutes of regulation after sophomore Zoe Morse picked up a red card in the 72nd minute. Morse and an Eagle attacker got tangled up on a run down the middle of the field with both players going down 22 yards out, resulting in the red card on the Cavalier.
Virginia took the lead in the 77th minute when Sutton hit her third goal of the season in the 77th minute. Following a foul on Boston College, the Cavaliers’ Lizzy Sieracki (Acworth, Ga.) put the ball in play, sending the ball forward to Ayan Adu (Ashburn, Va.). Adu tapped the ball ahead to Betsy Brandon (Littleton, Colo.) who dribbled down the side of the penalty box and served the ball in to Sutton for the go-ahead strike from 15 yards out.
The Cavalier defense stepped up down the stretch, holding the Eagles in check through the final 13 minutes to pick up the win.