Boston College lacrosse beat Northwestern on the road last Saturday to snap the Wildcats’ 47-game home win streak in a rematch of last year’s national championship.
“It’s just a setup for hard competition,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “Our team didn’t beat Northwestern last year, and they didn’t lose to us. It is totally different teams, so I think it was just really good competition. That is what we want early on in the year—that helps us be prepared for a game like UMass.”
The Eagles did, in fact, seem prepared for their game against Massachusetts on Wednesday. They did what they’ve done throughout their young, undefeated season: dominate.
“We just have momentum and confidence,” Shea Baker said. “We connected all the units very well last weekend. So I think—coming into this game—we can do that again.”
BC’s (4–0) confidence paid off, as they went up 18–2 against UMass (0–2) before halftime and ended up winning the game 22–5 to remain undefeated.
BC star attacker Emma LoPinto scored the opener for BC, as she netted an unassisted goal less than two minutes into the game. LoPinto ended the game with four goals, second only to Rachel Clark’s six.
The quick lead immediately put the pressure on UMass, and the Minutewomen did not hold up, as BC scored six more goals in the first period alone.
Kassidy Morris tried to lead a UMass response, but she was the only one who could put points on the board, and the Eagles ended the first quarter up 7–2.
As the second period got underway, BC refused to slow down and give UMass a chance to catch up. Mckenna Davis opened the scoring quickly, netting a goal at the 13:45 mark to push the score to 8–2.
UMass’ offense found few opportunities for breakaways and shots on the BC goal. But when it did, Baker dominated defensively, giving UMass little chance at even reaching BC’s defensive zone.
Baker was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week. When asked what is central to her game defensively, Baker answered that it is “attention to detail.”
The Eagles continued to consistently land shots in the UMass net, not giving the Minutewomen defense a chance to breathe. BC netted 11 goals in the second period, with six goals from Clark and three each from LoPinto and Molly Driscoll.
Clark, the defending IWLCA Offensive National Player of the Week, commented on what goes into her game preparation to allow for such dominant performances.
“Our coaches and my teammates, like, they make everything so easy for me,” Clark said. “We start preparing—as soon as one game is over, the preparation for the next game begins.”
That preparation is extensive, according to Clark.
“We’ll probably be doing some scout tonight,” Clark said. “I think we just over-prepare, and that kind of factors into everything we are.”
UMass struggled to keep up as the Eagles’ offense continuously tore through the Minutewomen’s attempts to stop them.
“We came into this knowing we had to win the draw,” Baker said. “Abbey Herod, our center, she’s a wizard on the draw. She’s making our job so easy.”
UMass’ Heather Clark was given a red card after a physical foul on Baker with 2:08 remaining in the first half, and Rachel Clark and Davis used BC’s two-woman advantage to score goals before heading into the half with an 18–2 lead.
The Eagles gave up a quick goal to start the third quarter, as the Minutewomen found themselves with a free-position shot following a yellow card on Baker. Another free-position shot about five minutes later gave UMass its second goal of the period.
The Minutewomen scored one final goal with 11:12 left to play, and the Eagles took a 22–5 win to remain undefeated on the season.
“I think we really just have to stay locked in and focused for 60 minutes,” Walker-Weinstein said. “Because I think that’s kind of what we’re after—is trying to find the most complete game possible.”
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