Boston College field hockey is about to find out a lot about itself in a hurry.
The Eagles head into ACC play with a 2-4 record, and the opening stretch is a demanding one: No. 16 Louisville comes to Chestnut Hill on Friday, then BC heads to Columbus to take on No. 20 Ohio State on Sunday.
Boston College is coming off a split weekend that showed both sides of the ledger. The Eagles blanked Maine, 5-0, on Friday, then fell just short against No.
3 Harvard in a 2-1 loss on Sunday. Against Maine, BC controlled the game from the start, piling up a 33-3 shot edge and a 21-1 advantage in shots on goal.
Five different Eagles scored in the shutout.
Sunday brought a tougher test, but freshman Ike Jakobsen gave BC life with her first collegiate goal in the third quarter, trimming the deficit to one before the Eagles ultimately came up short. Charlotte Kramer was busy all afternoon and finished with nine saves.
Kramer has been a steady presence in goal for Boston College and is climbing the program record book in her senior season. She enters the weekend ranked 10th all-time at BC with 20 career wins and three shutouts.
Last year, she posted a 1.40 goals-against average, which ranks among the top 10 single-season marks in program history. Through six games this season, Kramer has 25 saves, a .694 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average.
The freshman class has already carved out a meaningful role, too. Six first-years have logged significant minutes, and Jakobsen, Maren Boyle and Carmen Chiu have started every game.
Jakobsen’s goal against Harvard was one of several notable firsts over the weekend. Regan Welsh scored her first collegiate goal against Maine, and Arianna Fragomeni made her first appearance in the Maroon and Gold in the fourth quarter as BC closed out the shutout.
Seven Eagles have scored this season, with Klara Mueffelmann and Alex De Cain leading the way at three goals apiece. Caroline Chisholm has added two goals and an assist, while Jakobsen and Welsh both got on the board for the first time last weekend.
Friday’s matchup with Louisville will be the 15th all-time meeting between the programs and Boston College’s first ACC game of the season. The Eagles’ lone conference win of 2025 came against the Cardinals, when BC beat Louisville in a shootout on Senior Day.
Louisville comes in at 4-2 and No. 16 in the latest NFHCA poll. The Cardinals have dropped their last two games, falling to No.
1 Northwestern, 3-1, and No. 2 Iowa, 4-2.
Six different Louisville players have scored this season, led by Tyler Everslage and Annabel Sep with three goals each. Emily Young has handled most of the work in net, making 33 saves with a .786 save percentage.
Louisville brings back 16 letterwinners from last season, including All-ACC selection Annabel Sep and USWNT U21 Team member Lauren Masters, and has added eight newcomers.
Sunday’s trip to Ohio State will be Boston College’s fourth meeting with the Buckeyes and the first since 2006. Ohio State is 4-2 and ranked No. 20 after home wins over Delaware and Cornell, along with an early upset of No. 5 Virginia.
Sienna Golden leads the Buckeyes with five goals and 10 points. Emily Barker has three goals, including a two-goal outing against Delaware for her first career multi-goal game.
Lea DeWan scored her first collegiate goal against Cornell, making her the seventh Ohio State player to score this season. In goal, Avery Alleva and Maddie Stevens have split time, with each picking up two wins.
Alleva has 23 saves and a .793 save percentage.
The Buckeyes return 16 letterwinners from the 2025 season and welcome 10 newcomers in 2026.
Boston College will next head to North Carolina for an ACC matchup against Duke on Sept. 27. The game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday on ACCNX.
In Other News...
Bill OBrien Pushes Back On Troubling Boston College Money Claim
Bill OBrien pushed back this week on a report from The Athletic that painted Boston Colleges football finances in a bleak light, disputing the idea that the Eagles are lagging behind the rest of the Power Four in roster spending. The BC coach said the program has received more support each year since he arrived, and he voiced confidence in new university president Father Jack Butlers willingness to back athletics as the Eagles try to keep pace in a changing college football landscape.
Even so, OBrien acknowledged that the program still faces familiar hurdles, including the absence of the kind of third-party NIL pipeline that many of BCs peers have built. He also pointed to turnover in key positions around the program, another reminder that the Eagles are still working through some structural issues even as the administration tries to show it is committed to football. [Read more 🡒]
Bill OBrien Pushes Back On A Costly BC Football Narrative
Bill OBrien pushed back this week on a report that portrayed Boston College football as the stingiest spender in the Power Four, arguing the reality around the Eagles roster investment is far different. The BC coach said the programs spending is likely in the $16 million to $20 million range, a level he framed as more in line with other ACC programs such as Wake Forest and Pittsburgh than with the low-end figure cited in the report.
OBrien also made clear that Boston College intends to keep sharing revenue with its athletes as the college sports landscape shifts again. Along with that, he voiced support for the Protect College Sports Act, the legislation aimed at putting a cap on roster spending and reining in excessive transfers, a stance that adds another layer to how BC wants to position itself in the sports next era. [Read more 🡒]
Boston College Faces A Real Early Test Beyond Just Beating Maine
Boston College heads into its second straight home game with a little momentum and a little caution after opening the stretch with a 28-21 win over Rutgers. Bill OBriens group already proved it can handle a Power Four opponent, and now it gets a different kind of challenge against Maine, a program looking to regroup under Jordan Stevens after a loss to Merrimack. For the Eagles, this is the sort of game that can either reinforce good habits or expose the kind of details that matter once conference play heats up.
There is also a more personal layer to the early-season test, because Boston College is still managing the aftermath of a second-quarter injury that briefly halted the Rutgers game. Washington State transfer Anthony Palano earned national recognition for his defensive impact, but the Eagles focus this week is bigger than one standout performance or one opening-night win. Against a Maine team eager to make things awkward, Boston College has a chance to show it can stay sharp, healthy and composed while the schedule is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]