Career Day from Dylan Amonte Fuels Northwestern's 15-14 Comeback Win

EVANSTON, Ill. — Sunday’s Northwestern-Boston College matchup in Evanston was one for storylines.

Perennial NCAA semifinal teams toed the line. Tewaaraton favorites like Jenn Medjid and Belle Smith and Izzy Scane took the field. Both teams are ranked among the top six nationally.

A wild Northwestern comeback in the game’s second half made it one for the books.

Fresh off a 10-goal performance against Notre Dame, Scane kickstarted a Northwestern comeback with a free position goal at the beginning of the third quarter. From there, the Wildcats fought for a 15-14 victory –– Northwestern’s first over the Eagles since 2013. Northwestern went on a 9-4 run over the second half.

“It shows what our kids have been fighting for,” Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “There’s been a lot of progression in our program. These guys came out here today, they went down and fought back and really made some big-time plays. I was really proud of them. They believed, and believing is the most important thing.”

Sunday marked just the fourth meeting all-time between the powerhouse programs. The last meeting, a dominant 18-9 BC win in February 2022, felt worlds away. On Sunday, neither team led by more than four goals, and no individual tallied more than five goals. Last season’s matchup was also held in the Fish Fieldhouse in Chestnut Hill, closed to the public, while Sunday featured a lively, nearly sold-out crowd in Ryan Fieldhouse.

The top scorers in last season’s game —Jill Girardi and Charlotte North — have graduated from their respective programs. With their absence, both programs are flaunting new-look attacks. Scane has returned for Northwestern after a historic 98-goal season in 2021, and Smith and Medjid are taking the helm for the Eagles.

Boston College ruled the matchup in the first half, starting with a goal from Smith just over four minutes into the first quarter. The Eagles initially moved the ball with ease, stifling the Northwestern defense with a polished, pass-heavy strategy. Six different scorers, led by a hat trick from Smith, powered BC to a 10-6 halftime lead.

Acacia Walker-Weinstein credited her team’s initial offensive success to plenty of ball movement and players being in the right place at the right time.

The Wildcats had a quiet first quarter, trailing 5-2 at its end. But Northwestern began to pick up pace in the second quarter, tallying four goals and narrowing Boston College’s lead to two goals at multiple points.

Scane said the Wildcats were caught off guard by Boston College’s defensive scheme.

“It took a bit of time to make the right motions,” Scane said. “[We were] making sure we were setting up on offense — not taking the first look, but looking for the open second, third look.”

While the Eagles heavily guarded the Wildcats’ right side on attack, Amonte Hiller said that meant the left side was open for senior attacker Dylan Amonte to make an impact. The Massachusetts native took a star turn on Sunday, finishing with five goals –– three in the first half — and one assist.

The matchup took a turn once Scane got involved. Her free-position shot at the beginning of the third quarter narrowed the lead to three, and she went on to chip in three more goals in the game’s final 30 minutes.

While Scane getting on the board was a difference-maker for the Wildcats, she said she was happy to help her team any way she could — regardless of whether she scored or not.

“I trust my team so much,” Scane said. “Points don’t matter. I’m perfectly fine with being someone who sets picks or puts people in position to score. I don’t need to be the one scoring points, as long as someone on my team is.”

The defenses turned heads throughout. Northwestern goalie Molly Laliberty was crucial to keeping her team in the game in the first half, recording five saves.

Boston College played Rachel Hall for nearly three quarters before freshman Shea Dolce entered the cage. It wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision for the Eagles. Walker-Weinstein called the duo a “two-headed monster,” and said the pair have been splitting time no matter the circumstances.

Northwestern first took the lead on a powerful free-position shot from Amonte with just over six minutes left in the matchup. Another score by sophomore midfielder Emerson Bohlig put the Wildcats up two. The Eagles managed one more goal but appeared frazzled and rushed on attack during the final few minutes.

After a competitive, one-goal loss to Syracuse last Saturday, Northwestern has found its footing as it rides a two-game winning streak that started against Notre Dame.

Scane called Sunday’s victory a “big testament” to the Wildcats’ work over the past few months.

“The team is really close, and really hard working,” Scane said. “We’re going to be able to do great things. This is just the start of that.