The NCAA Tournament is nothing new to Boston College field hockey. The program has been there before, and the current seniors conceivably remember heading to Syracuse as part of a four-team grouping in 2016. That was the team's fourth consecutive appearance, a run that included a victory over Albany in 2015.
Head coach Kelly Doton remembers that run as an assistant in the first two seasons before ascending to the team's helm. She understands how the national tournament differs from any regular season setting, both physically and emotionally, and she can clearly recall the experience from even her own playing days as a member of Wake Forest's consecutive national runners up.