Boston College lacrosse and North Carolina have split the last 12 games of their all-time series 5–7. Since 2019, the Tar Heels have only lost two games, both to BC—in the 2019 and 2021 NCAA Tournament semifinals. In what is perhaps college lacrosse’s biggest rivalry, No. 1-seed North Carolina and No. 2-seed Boston College lacrosse faced off on Saturday night for the ACC championship.
In a battle between the nation’s best—either BC or North Carolina has held the No. 1 spot in the national rankings all season—BC (16–3, 6–2 Atlantic Coast) watched its first ACC title in program history slip from its fingers, falling to the Tar Heels for the second time this season in a 16–9 loss.
After losing to North Carolina (18–0, 8–0) by just one goal earlier in the season, the Eagles looked to break the Tar Heels’ five-year ACC Championship–winning streak.
The Eagles quickly gained a lead and kept it up throughout the first half. BC played as a unit, maintaining long possessions but capitalizing on scoring opportunities, and the Eagles left the first half ahead 6–4.
Defensively, Rachel Hall earned five saves in the first half, providing a cushion for BC’s lead. Her success in the net consistently gave the Eagles a boost of energy as they transitioned into offense.
After North Carolina got on the board first, Mckenna Davis kicked off the scoring for BC in the sixth minute which tied the score at 1–1. Cassidy Weeks, Caitlynn Mossman, Belle Smith, and Charlotte North also scored, with Smith adding one goal, Weeks and Mossman adding two, and North adding three. On her third goal of the night, North tied the NCAA record for career goals at 341.
Entering the second half, BC led 6–4. But as the third quarter opened, the Tar Heels quickly turned things around.
After scoring seven unanswered goals, the Tar Heels found themselves up 11–6.
BC’s offense was slow, planned, and spread out in the first half, but it quickly turned into a rushed jumble as North Carolina put pressure on the Eagles. With each goal that North Carolina scored, the Eagles became more and more frantic and disconnected, a far cry from the team that dominated the first half.
North Carolina finished the quarter leading by five goals, 11–6.
The fourth quarter continued much like the third. A series of turnovers allowed the Tar Heels to continue to build up their lead, reaching a 14–6 lead before BC found the net to end North Carolina’s 11–0 run. But it was too much to come back from, and North Carolina walked away with its sixth straight conference title.
