In its season-opening matchup against No. 8 Loyola Maryland, No. 1 Boston College lacrosse looked capable of doing something that has never been done in program history: go back to back.
The expectations are high, to say the least, for the reigning national champions.
While it may still be too early to tell what will happen come national championship season, the Eagles (1–0) certainly looked capable of repeating as they coasted past the Greyhounds (0–1) 21–7 on Friday in Fish Field House.
“I loved our aggression on the draw and on the ride,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “We had 13 caused turnovers today, and that’s a good number, and we only had one yellow and one green card. I was really happy with our one-versus-one defense, and I was very happy with our two-way middies. I think they did their job perfectly on both ends of the field. I thought our shooting was spectacular.”
BC’s offense came out electric. Just 1:24 into Friday afternoon’s game, Rachel Clark rattled a shot past the stick of Lauren Spence and into the back of the Greyhounds’ net off a Mckenna Davis assist.
But Clark wasn’t done, in fact, that was only the beginning. She went on to lead the Eagles’ offense with seven goals in the matchup.
Walker-Weinstein seemed hardly surprised by Clark’s impressive showing.
“I’m kind of used to it because I see it every day,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She is a really, really good shooter, and she’s just an incredible dodger and a very smart player, and I think her teammates play for her. I think she was a product of a lot of really good offense, and she just happened to be the one to put up seven goals.”
Clark wasn’t alone in her efforts, though.
Emma LoPinto, another standout transfer from last season, nailed six goals for BC. The dynamic duo combined for 13 of BC’s 21 goals in the matchup.
“I had no idea she had six goals because she had a quiet six goals, and she played amazing,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She’s doing great, and I think she is playing so smoothly in that feeding pocket, and I think she’s really upped her game with feeds, handling pressure well, and she’s got a couple new dodges.”
Going into halftime with an 11–2 lead, the Eagles seemed to be smooth sailing.
But that didn’t continue into the third quarter.
While Loyola never took the lead from BC, it silenced any offensive playmaking from the Eagles for a good chunk of the third quarter while pummeling Shea Dolce with shots.
In the first two minutes of the third frame, the Greyhounds tallied two more goals, one coming off a clutch Mim Suares-Jury behind-the-back goal that sailed past Dolce’s reach.
“I’m really not happy with the beginning of the third quarter,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I said [Loyola] is smart, this team is well-coached, and this team is hungry, and if we don’t win the first five minutes, we lose the third quarter. In my opinion, we lost the third quarter.”
Everything started to go back into BC’s favor once freshman Devon Russell turned a Molly Driscoll assist into an Eagles goal—marking her first collegiate goal.
And from then on, BC took the reins from Loyola completely.
While much of the attention was on BC’s offense, its defense also anchored the team’s success, causing 17 turnovers and limiting the Greyhounds to only two free-position shots.
That was in part thanks to Lydia Colasante.
“I think somehow even though Lydia crushed U20s and crushed for us last year, somehow she’s flying under the radar,” Walker-Weinstein said. “ I’m not sure I understand that, because she’s a superstar for us. I mean she’s everywhere—on the draw circle, getting turnovers, ground balls, scoring goals, and she’s been doing that for us for two years. She’s been doing that her whole life, and I’m happy she opened up this game like that.”
When asked about what is to come for BC lacrosse following its first win of the season, Clark kept it simple.
“I think it’s inspiring we have some of our alums on the sideline, and we just want to represent BC lacrosse and carry on the culture,” she said. “I think it’s honestly more of an inspiration than anything, and we just want to continue the legacy.”
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