Less than three minutes into the Battle of Com. Ave, No. 2 Boston College Lacrosse was already up 4–0 on Boston University. Then, Cassidy Weeks decided to pull out her bag of tricks.
McKenna Davis found Weeks racing across the front of goal, and after collecting the pass Weeks faked a short-side shot before whipping her stick around her back, shooting the ball into the opposite corner of the net.
“Yeah it was a great feed right in front and we just knew that the goalie loved to step out so it’s communication and just putting it right behind,” Weeks said. “It’s something that me and Emma do before the game, we always do behind the back passes so just putting into the game was really fun.”
The Eagles (7–1, 2–0 Atlantic Coast) continued their offensive dominance, and led by a 14–1 first half performance, steamrolled the Terriers (4–1) in a 23–5 win in the “One Love Awareness Game” on Wednesday afternoon at the Fish Field House.
BC started off comfortably on the front foot with Weeks and Davis both circling from behind the net and firing shots past Natalie Aiosa to give BC a 2–0 lead 40 seconds into the game.
The Eagles continued their onslaught and took an 8–0 lead over the Terriers with 5:23 remaining in the first quarter.
“It’s good to start really strong because I think you send a message from the beginning that you’re going to play at a certain level,” BC Head Coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “I was really happy with, you know, how they started and came out.”
Despite the large-early lead, the Eagles aggressive defense was on display throughout, with Martello and Ryan Smith causing turnovers by BU midfielders while tracking back on defense.
“I just think that there was a lot of focus on a lot of different levels. We’ve been working a lot on transition lately, both defensively and offensively,” Walker-Weinstein said. “So I was really happy with, you know, the way they executed.”
Molly Driscoll continued BC’s dominance in the opening minute of the second quarter, driving from the outside in-between two defenders before firing it low, past Aiosa to increase the Eagles lead to 11–0.
The Terriers continued to push hard, but every rush up the field was responded to by BC defenders putting sticks and bodies in passing lanes, halting BU’s breaks.
Sydney Scales registered four caused turnovers but explained that cohesion was the reason for the teams defensive success.
“Our mentality going into every game is to be the aggressor,” Scales said. “We try to be all 8, all in and trust our unit. Knowing my teammates have my back or teammates have someone else’s back enables us to go out there and be aggressive and take those risks.”
BU got one back in the last 1:30 of the first half, but the Eagles kept their foot on the gas and went up 14–1 at the end of the half.
The Terriers began the second half better than the first with Raegan Bailey firing a shot past Emily English just 36 seconds into the quarter and Avery Jones adding another on a man-up advantage, bouncing it off English’s stick, to cut the BC lead to 14–3.
Clark responded for the Eagles, netting a third goal at 6:40 and then slipping a shot past Aiosa to get her fourth 1:32 seconds later, marking her seventh straight game with a hat-trick.
“I honestly attribute it all to my teammates,” Clark said. “The motion, our offense, Sam Apuzzo, and how they have us working. It’s just my teammates make it really easy for me to find the net.”
The Eagles closed out the Terriers by relying on the depth of their team with many substitutes getting most of the minutes in the fourth quarter.
“I mean, they’ve worked hard every single day in practice to be ready for their moment and it’s just so exciting to see them get their moment,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I’m just really proud of them and it shows a deeper level of focus that I’m really happy about.”
Kylee Colbert, Annabelle Hasselback and Brooke McLoy all scored in the final frame, making it 11 different scorers in the Eagles’ 23–5 rout of the Terriers.
Throughout the game, BC honored former UVA Lacrosse player Yeardly Love and the One Love Foundation which is dedicated to empowering young people with resources and education on signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships.
The Eagles found a real importance in the sentiment and message of the game, according to sophomore Peyton Oliver.
“I think it’s hard to realize that Yeardly [Love] was a lacrosse player in college just like us, had the same dreams just like us,” Oliver said. “I think we don’t realize how important this is to spread awareness about so I think that putting this game and message out there is super awesome.”
