When the going gets tough, the tough get going. On Thursday night against the Virginia Cavaliers, the Boston College lacrosse team failed to get tough, and as a result it fell 16-14 and dropped to 10-4 on the year, and 2-4 in the ACC.
The Eagles were led by the usual names-Covie Stanwick led all players with six points in the form of three goals and three assists, while Mikaela Rix had a hat trick of her own, which she paired with two assists. Brooke Blue completed BC’s three-pronged hat trick attack with her own three-goal game.
A variety of other Eagles contributed goals, including Sarah Mannelly, Kate McCarthy, and Caroline Margolis.
Scoring wasn’t the problem for the Eagles on Thursday night. It was their defense that dug the grave and started shoveling on the dirt. Virginia’s offense continually and systematically dismantled the Eagles’ defense, scoring almost at will.
The Cavaliers put up seven goals in the first half, putting the Eagles in a 7-2 hole with just over five and a half minutes left in the half. BC did not roll over, though, and fought back to within one by the time the half was over, bailing out the defense and keeping the Eagles in the game.
In the second half, the Eagles tied the game four times at 7-7, 8-8, 10-10, and 12-12. Virginia would then go on to score the next four goals in 10 minutes, keeping the Eagles offense off the board and leaving BC with just 56 seconds to try and tie it for the fifth time. BC scored twice, cutting its deficit in half, but time ran out on the Eagles before they could come any closer.
The Eagles have had problems starting games strongly, allowing themselves to fall behind early. Their slow starts have regularly led to close losses as BC’s scorers scramble to catch up with their opponents, only to fall just short, the hole too deep to dig out of.
The same thing happened on Thursday night against the Cavaliers. BC fell behind, and though it was able to tie the game multiple times, BC never once took the lead over Virginia.
BC’s shooters had spent most of the game catching up to the Cavaliers, bailing the defense out of a bad first half. When the offense went cold and needed the defense to bail them out, however, the defense again failed.
Virginia scored four times in just over nine minutes, as the Cavaliers took a stranglehold on the game. Of Virginia’s 16 goals, 14 were scored by just four players-Courtney Swan, Maddy Keeshan, Liza Blue, and Kelley Boyd.
The Cavaliers scored on their only free position shot of the game, indicating that no matter what they tried, the Eagles were simply unable to contain Virginia’s offense.
Head coach Acacia Walker’s offense is scoring at a good clip-that much is certain. If there is one adage that has proven prophetic time and time again, however, it’s that defense wins championships. If the team’s defense is unable to support its offense, it is unlikely that the Eagles will be able to contend for any championships in the upcoming post-season.
