Unlike in normal Boston College lacrosse fashion, the No. 1 Eagles did not begin the game the way that they would have expected—or even would have liked—against the No. 21 Blue Devils.
While the Eagles were only down by one goal against Duke for a total of 34 seconds within the matchup, it marked the first time that BC has not had the lead in its first five games of the season so far.
And for a team as explosive as BC, the expectations are exceptionally high.
But, similar to how the Eagles (5–0, 1–0 Atlantic Coast) have in every game so far this season, they responded to Duke’s (2–2, 0–1) goal with a Rachel Clark cannon and ended up running away with the match from that point on, eventually defeating the Blue Devils 19–10 in Fish Field House.
While its offense often gets the spotlight, this time BC’s defense is what led to a smooth-sailing win against its top-25 ACC opponent.
“They were so together today and disciplined,” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. “And you know, the goal is to have a shot clock violation, but it is really hard to do that. They did that multiple times, and it’s really awesome, and I just think our defense was spectacular today.”
The Blue Devils stayed within reach for the first quarter, though, as they were only down by 4–2 when the game clock sounded. It wasn’t until the second frame that BC’s offense started to ignite.
In a matter of two minutes, the Eagles had just about achieved everything that they needed.
After forcing Duke into a shot clock violation with 10:26 left in the second quarter, Clark tallied her 15th goal of the season. And just 37 seconds later Molly Driscoll followed suit, netting her sixth goal of the season to put BC up 7–2.
But BC was not done quite yet. Anchored by Shea Baker and Lydia Colasante, BC’s defensive pressure resulted in another Blue Devil shot clock violation with 6:57 left in the half.
With these key plays, the Eagles entered the half with a 9–3 lead.
But in what has become a recent pattern, a lull began for BC as third quarter woes plagued the Eagles.
“In three games now, in the third quarter Northwestern, Loyola, and this, we beat ourselves, and we start making stupid plays and dumb cards, and we’re beating ourselves,” Walker-Weinstein said.” I’m not sure it’s anything crazy tactical, but I think it’s something. I don’t know, but I gotta figure it out.”
Keeping the Eagles scoreless for almost 14 minutes, Duke began to chip away at BC’s lead while scoring three unanswered goals. Three goals in the final 48 seconds of the quarter allowed the Eagles to head into the final frame with a 13–6 lead, however.
But Duke’s toughness persisted during the early minutes of the fourth frame, when the Blue Devils brought the score differential to just four goals with a little under ten minutes to play in the game.
Thanks to Driscoll, Kylee Colbert, Devon Russell, Maria Themelis, and Lydia Colsante, however, that rapidly changed. Thanks to their goals, BC saw its lead increase back to nine goals to close out the game as it took a 19–10 victory.
With a young roster comes new faces, continuing the legacy of BC lacrosse. One of those faces is standout freshman Russell.
“It’s been so easy. I feel like I’ve known these girls forever,” Russell said. “I think not just on the lacrosse field, but in the locker room and off the field, they make you feel so welcomed.”
Walker-Weinstein offered praise for Russell, who reminds her what BC lacrosse was all about.
“I mean it’s really rare, and I just think that Devon is a rare type of player that when she plays, she looks like a senior,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She’s just really calm, and I love that about her. It reminds me a lot of how Belle and Cassidy were. She’s also a physial specimen, she doesn’t like to get pushed around, and she isn’t afraid.”
Leave a Reply