In the second leg of a three-game road trip, Boston College lacrosse arrived on Wednesday afternoon in New Haven, Conn., to face the Yale University Bulldogs (5-6, 2-1 Ivy). This was the 14th time BC (7-5, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) has met up with Yale, and the first time since BC defeated the Bulldogs, 16-5, in the NCAA tournament in 2012. Yale is a team BC has struggled with historically, as it came up short in 10 of the team’s’ first 13 matchups. The Eagles, however, refused to let history intimidate them today.
BC came out flying, as they looked to rebound from a two-game losing streak against North Carolina and Virginia, in which they lost both games by a combined two goals. BC rode the momentum from a 10-goal second half against Virginia last Saturday, on its way to a 15-11 victory over Yale.
The scoring started early in this non-conference matchup, as Yale’s Taryn Gallagher netted a goal 27 seconds into the first half. This was the only lead the Bulldogs held for the entire game. BC responded to the early lapse with six straight goals, each coming from a different player on its way to a 7-4 halftime lead.
In the second half, the Eagles did not let up as they stretched their lead to 13-8. Tess Chandler scored two of her team-high three goals for BC over this stretch, with the goals coming a minute and a half apart to break open the game. Yale did not give up, however, fighting back to make it 14-11 with 4:22 to play. BC then proceeded to win two crucial draws before netting a final goal to make the score 15-11 with 2:31 left in the game. This goal from junior Katie Weeks put the nail in the coffin for the game.
Sarah Mannelly continued her strong play for BC on Wednesday as she netted two goals and added two assists. With her performance, Mannelly moved into third on the all time career points list at BC as she passed Mikaela Rix’s 222 points to earn 223 career points.
Weeks added to her team-leading total of eight multi-goal games—she scored her 21st, 22nd, and 23rd goals of the year.
This was a big win for BC, as it looks to pick up some momentum heading into the postseason with five regular season games left to play. The Eagles are currently ranked No. 11 in the IWLCA poll for Women’s Division I lacrosse.
BC will wrap up its three-game road trip on Saturday in Durham, N.C., against the Duke Blue Devils. Duke is the No. 15 team in the nation according the IWLCA polls this week. The Eagles will look for their third victory in four years over Duke as they attempt to move up in the conference standings.
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Editor
