Welcome back to another edition of our weekly roundup, where we are taking a look at everything that happened in the world of Boston College sports the past seven days. From matchups against ranked teams to Senior Day celebrations, it’s been an action-packed week. Here’s what we’ve seen:
Men’s Basketball Bounces Back With Two Wins
What a difference a week makes. After demoralizing defeats on the road to Duke and Syracuse in which the Eagles looked incompetent on the offensive end for long stretches, BC rebounded in a big way, returning to the comforts of Conte Forum and picking up wins over Pittsburgh and Miami to vault to 10th in the ACC standings. Ky Bowman stood out against the Panthers, nearly nabbing a triple-double with 14 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists, before Nik Popovic and Jordan Chatman stepped up against the Hurricanes with the junior guard still recovering from a fever, scoring a combined 32 points in the win.
For some additional coverage, check out a rundown of the Eagles’ injury woes this season here.
Women’s Basketball Gets Blown Out…Twice
In the midst of a five-game losing streak, it’s become clear that the Eagles have a lot to figure out on the defensive end of the court. After losing, 97-47, to Notre Dame on Wednesday and 91-58 to Clemson on Saturday, BC has now given up over 90 points in five of the past six games and allows the most points per game in the ACC. The one bright spot? Junior forward Emma Guy has provided the Eagles a consistent scoring option, leading them in scoring in two of the past three games.
Men’s Hockey Falls Just Short Against Massachusetts
After a tough loss to Northeastern in the Beanpot Championship, the schedule didn’t get any easier for the Eagles, who took on No. 3 UMass in a weekend home-and-home. BC played well in both games and held the lead at the end of the first period both Friday and Saturday, but couldn’t seal the deal in either contest. On Friday, Jake McLaughlin scored with 2.3 seconds remaining to give the Minutemen a last-second 4-3 win, and on Saturday, UMass scored three second-period goals to erase a 1-0 deficit before holding off a late BC comeback to win, 4-2.
Women’s Hockey Leaves No Doubt on Senior Day
Women’s hockey enjoyed a better weekend than men’s hockey, welcoming Maine to Kelley Rink for two games and winning both. First, it was Kelly Browne—who has now scored in four consecutive games for the Eagles—popping up with the winning goal on a power play late in the third period to lift BC to a hard-fought 2-1 win on Thursday. Then, on Senior Day on Friday, it was fittingly the seniors who stepped up. Megan Keller scored, and Makenna Newkirk notched three assists, as the Eagles enjoyed a much more comfortable 5-2 victory over the Black Bears. For more detailed coverage of that game, check out our recap here.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis Both Drop Conference Matchups
The weekend wasn’t kind to either of the tennis teams, as men’s tennis continued to struggle in ACC play. Despite winning the first and second singles matches, thanks to excellent efforts from Derek Austin and Markus Nordby, BC still fell to Louisville, 5-2. Meanwhile, the women’s team suffered its first defeat of 2019, hitting the road to face No. 18 Virginia and losing, 5-2. Yufei Long and Jackie Urbinati were a bright spot for the Eagles, winning their match at the number one doubles spot.
Lacrosse Completes a Comeback at Syracuse
No. 1 BC faced its first test of the season in its ACC opener, traveling to Syracuse to take on the Orange. The Eagles once again proved that it’s impossible to count them out, as they fell behind, 7-2, in the first half before staging a rally, scoring seven of the next eight goals, en route to a 14-12 victory over the No. 10 team in the country. As she has so often been, Sam Apuzzo was spectacular for BC, notching seven goals to spearhead the offensive effort and becoming the program’s all-time leading goal scorer in the process. For some more coverage of the game, check out our summary here.
Baseball Sweeps Jackson State to Kick Off 2019
This past weekend also marked the start of the 2019 baseball campaign, and for the Eagles the season couldn’t have started much better. BC flew down to Mississippi to take on Jackson State and left with a series sweep on the back of an offense that scored 27 runs in three games and solid pitching performances from Matt Gill and Dan Metzdorf. Freshman Sal Frelick looks to be a difference maker on the offensive end: He was 6-for-11 at the plate in the first series of his collegiate career.
Softball Splits Four Contests at the ACC/B1G Challenge
The softball team participated in the ACC/B1G Challenge over the weekend and recorded its first two wins of the season, taking down Michigan State, 7-6, on Saturday and 9-7 on Friday but also falling to Illinois twice. Pitching remains a concern for the Eagles—they allowed six or more runs in all four games—but two losses to the Illini, which slotted in at No. 25 in the latest NFCA Coaches poll, are almost to be expected for a young team.
Moment of the Week: Jersey retirements
In addition to the plethora of games on campus, this weekend also marked the return of several BC Athletics legends. First, women’s hockey netminder Molly Schaus, who graduated in 2011 and now ranks second in program history in several notable categories, including wins, goals against average, and shutouts, was honored on Senior Day by having her number retired. Then, men’s hockey greats Tim Sheehy and Tom Mellor, both integral parts of Eagles teams in the late 1960s and early 1970s, saw their numbers hung in the rafters of Conte Forum Saturday after the first intermission of BC’s game against the Minutemen. On Sunday, the 1993-94 men’s basketball team, which made it to the Elite Eight, was honored, and Bill Curley, the leading scorer on that team, saw his jersey retired as well.
Stat of the Week: 21 straight regular season wins for lacrosse
The last time BC lost in a regular season contest was April 8, 2017, when the Eagles lost, 15-12, to Duke on Red Bandanna Day.
What’s Next?
Men’s basketball continues ACC play with trips to North Carolina State (Wednesday) and Clemson (Saturday), while the women’s team plays at North Carolina on Thursday before flying down to Louisville for a clash with the No. 4 Cardinals. Men’s hockey goes to Maine for two contests against the Black Bears on Friday and Saturday, while women’s hockey faces New Hampshire on Saturday.
On the spring side, baseball has a weekend series against Bethune-Cookman on the docket, and softball plays five games at the Pirate Invitational (Friday to Sunday). Women’s tennis is set to take on on both UNC and N.C. State. Lacrosse, on the other hand, will face off against in-state rivals UMass and Harvard on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Featured Image by Bradley Smart / Heights Editor
