The first five minutes of Saturday afternoon’s game between Boston College lacrosse and Brown was nothing short of Eagle-domination. In the fourth minute, sophomore Cara Urbank scored a free-position goal following a foul called in Brown territory. Soon after, junior Sam Apuzzo cut through the Bears’ defense to score an unassisted goal, marking her 17th scoring play of the season. This offensive success persisted throughout the contest, bringing the Eagles 15 second-half goals and a resounding 22-12 victory over the Bears.
BC’s (5-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) game-opening fortune, however, did not last long. Brown (2-1) responded with success on the counterattack in the sixth minute, as junior midfielder Zoe Verni’s missed shot was collected by junior Hafsa Moinuddin for an unassisted goal. Just two minutes later, Risa Mosenthal capitalized on a foul called against an Eagles defender. Mosenthal swiftly cut through BC’s defense and sent the ball into the back of the net for her 10th goal of the year.
With the game tied at two, it seemed as if there was no stopping the Bears. Mosenthal put away her second goal of the half as her explosive attacking nature took over, slicing through the Eagles’ defense for another goal. BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein called the first timeout of the game as Brown snatched the lead.
The Eagles were in desperate need of a change in pace, but they could not turn things around. With 16:41 left in the half, Brown’s freshman attacker Maggie Fowler received the ball from Verni and netted her first of the game, bringing the score to 4-2 for the Bears. Under a minute later, Brown capitalized on a BC error in the offensive end: The Bears gathered the turnover, sped down the field, and cashed on an Elizabeth Miller foul, scoring a free-position goal.
Thanks to a 5-0 run, Brown led the game by three, and the Eagles seemed to be falling apart. BC struggled hard to respond to Brown’s explosive offense, while failing to break through the Bears’ solid, intact defense. Balanced play on both ends of the field gifted them a comfortable lead and a great deal of momentum.
The Eagles finally managed to halt Brown’s offensive run with just under 15 minutes left in the half. The Bears’ Marissa Hudgins was shown a yellow card for making contact with Apuzzo’s head. BC brought the ball down the field, and senior attacker Kaileen Hart scored her first goal of the day, cutting the Eagles’ deficit to two. Apuzzo followed in her trail with a goal of her own, assisted by Hart.
Down by just one, a newfound energy spiced up the game, as both teams scored within a minute of each other, each eager to keep pace with the other. With a 5-1 run, BC finally overtook the Bears before the half came to a close with two goals from Jordan Lappin and one from Sheila Rietano to take the lead, 7-6. The Eagles’ one-goal advantage was its first lead since the opening five minutes of the game.
BC kicked off the second frame just the way it started the first, quickly putting up two goals, this time from Hart and Tara Schurr, respectively, who assisted each other on the scoring plays. Within a span of 20 seconds, the Eagles lengthened their lead to three. BC’s scoring frenzie continued with a goal from Lappin, who netted her third of the game, forcing Brown to call its first timeout of the contest.
In a familiar scene, Brown retaliated with a full-force comeback. With 22:04 left, the Bears started to make their move, as BC’s Jillian Reilly received a green card for a delay of game, which Walker vociferously disputed on the sidelines, yelling for the officials to call a fair game.
Following the decision, Brown’s Mason Warble scored her first goal of the game, but the Bears didn’t stop there. Brown carried a three-goal run, closing the gap to just one with 20 minutes left to play. Accompanied by energy pouring from the Bears’ bench, Brown was taking over.
Apuzzo had other ideas. She corralled the ball from Hart’s blocked shot and scored her third goal of the game, unassisted. Just 20 seconds later, Hart netted her third goal of the game, and the two hat-tricks restored the Eagles’ previous three-goal lead.
The Bears disrupted the Eagles’ run with a free-position goal from Mosenthal, but Hart quickly fired back with her fourth goal of the game—a career high—to extend BC’s lead to 16-11. After one last goal from Mosenthal, the Eagles went off, stringing together a 6-0 run to close the game, with two more goals from Apuzzo, three from Arsenault, and one from Tess Chandler, sealing the deal for BC.
All in all, the Eagles outperformed Brown in most aspects of the game. They outshot the Bears, 40-23, committed three less turnovers, and won double the amount of draw controls.
Although the first 30 minutes were too close for comfort, the Eagles upped the ante in the second half, winning the game by a convincing 10-goal margin. Walker links the scoring burst back to conscious leadership.
“We just needed a little wake up call,” she said. “We were asleep in the first half. We needed our leaders to be leaders, and they were in the second half.”
Featured Image by Julianna Glafkides / Heights Staff
