In a game that was supposed to be a bounceback from its loss against reigning champions Northwestern, Boston College lacrosse found themselves in a similar situation against Virginia Tech. Down 2–0 less than five minutes into the first quarter, it seemed as though the Eagles might once again dig themselves into an inescapable hole, as they had against Northwestern.
The Eagles (6–1, 2–0 Atlantic Coast) avoided suffering a similar fate, however, and responded to the Hokies’ quick start by scoring three goals of their own in the opening quarter en route to a 20–7 win over Virginia Tech (4–2, 1–1).
“I do believe the girls were resilient today and I do believe they were dedicated to improving,” BC head coach Acacia-Walker Weinstein said. “Over the course of the 60 minutes, I think we improved.”
Kayla Martello kicked off the Eagles’ scoring about halfway through the opening quarter. Rachel Clark and Belle Smith followed suit and picked up goals of their own, putting the Eagles up 3–2 going into the second quarter.
From then on, the Eagles never relinquished their lead, and picked up a dominant win despite a slow start.
“I think the start is something that we really are trying to focus on,” Walker-Weinstein said. “Although we came out on the good side of it today, we didn’t on Thursday, and I don’t think it’s really good indication of who our team is, so we really got to continue to work on that.”
The Eagles dominated in the second quarter, outscoring the Hokies 9–2. Ryan Smith scored her first goal as a graduate student on a free-position shot to put the Eagles up 7–3. Cassidy Weeks and B. Smith combined for six second quarter goals to send the Eagles into the half leading 12–4.
According to Walker-Weinstein, Shea Dolce’s defense proved to be the key for the Eagles to reignite their offense.
“I think it was Shea Dolce, our goalie, who made some really great saves,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I think we’re really lucky to have such a stabilizer in cage that can really jumpstart a turning point in the entire game.”
Dolce was not the only contributor to the Eagles’ standout defensive performance, which limited the Hokies to their second-lowest scoring performance of the season.
“I was happy with the 1v1 defense, along with the really good goaltending,” Walker Weinstein said. “I think we were able to capitalize in our transition, which I think can sort of steal the momentum… every time Virginia Tech did something, we actually had a good answer to it.”
The second half saw an equally commanding showing from the Eagles, who outscored the Hokies 8–3. Kayla Martello and Clark each scored their third goals of the game, while Weeks put in her fourth. Molly Driscoll, Shea Baker, Mckenna Davis all added goals, and Emma Lopinto added two.
“Every ACC game is an opportunity to learn a little more about our team,” Walker-Weinstein said. “We get a little more experience and learn a little more about who we are and what we need to to be a little bit better every game.”
