Boston College lacrosse head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said herself that it is harder to win an ACC title than a national championship.
Her words may just hold true after the reigning national champions were unable to come up with a win on Sunday against No. 1 North Carolina in the ACC Tournament Championship game.
In their quest for a third straight ACC title, something that has never been done in program history, the Eagles (17–2, 8–2 Atlantic Coast) narrowly fell 14–12 to the Tar Heels (18–0, 9–0) in a punch-for-punch battle.
After losing to UNC a few weeks prior, in what was the Eagles’ only loss of the regular season, BC was unable to capitalize on its shot at redemption against its rival ACC powerhouse, which won the conference championship for the first time since 2022.
While BC has owned the conference the last two years, the Eagles couldn’t emulate their past successes this time around.
“Things are glaring to me right now, I know exactly what we are going to be working on next week,” Walker-Weinstein said. “We’re going to get to work. Ground balls, draw controls, one-versus-ones, shooting, finding more quality opportunities.”
It wasn’t clear until the final seconds of the matchup, in a game of UNC keep-away from the Eagles’ defense, that the Tar Heels would be coming home with the title.
“We just came up a little short in some of the hustle stats: draw controls, ground balls,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I was proud of how our team fought. Carolina played a great game—we knew they would—and I think we have to work to get a little better.”
There was one stark difference between this matchup and the others before it. BC’s Rachel Clark, the nation’s leading scorer, was silenced by the Tar Heels’ defense, as she notched just two goals and two assists—a far cry from her usual output.
“They were just closing the space a little bit [on Rachel],” Walker-Weinstein said. “Traditionally, not really an issue for Rachel, so we will probably work on that. It’s really not a huge issue, but we are going to need to work on it.”
Emma LoPinto, who ranks second on the team for goals scored—another part of the dynamic scoring trio that includes Clark and Mckenna Davis—came up with just one goal on seven shots.
That wasn’t as much of an issue as it could have been for the Eagles, as Davis, commonly known as a feeder, had two goals and two assists. She was joined by Molly Driscoll and Mia Mascone, who both recorded hat tricks.
“Mia, I’m so proud of her, and I think she has been awesome all tournament,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I think she sets the tone for us on offense. I’m really excited for her, because I think she is heating up.”
It didn’t take long for Mascone to get on the board in the matchup, as she tallied BC’s first two goals about three minutes apart in the first quarter.
With every BC goal came a UNC goal, though, as the squads went back and forth in the first frame.
Even though Driscoll brought the score to 5–4 off a free-position shot with 59 seconds to play in the first frame, UNC responded with 36 seconds left thanks to an Eliza Osburn goal.
Entering the second frame, the score was knotted at 5–5, and it seemed like it really was anyone’s game.
While the first frame proved to be an offensive explosion with a total of 10 goals scored, the second quarter was more of a defensive battle for both teams.
After an Emma Claire Quinn turnover, Chloe Humphrey notched a goal, and UNC grabbed a slight 6–5 edge.
Then, a little less than two minutes later, BC’s goal deficit increased to two, as defender Sam Forrest scored her second goal of the season off a clutch clear attempt.
But BC wasn’t done fighting yet, as it put two more goals on the board before the end of the quarter, thanks to Mascone and Davis.
Both the Tar Heels and the Eagles tallied two goals in the second frame, and the game was again knotted, this time 7–7, going into the half.
The third frame was no different, as BC responded to any shot that UNC threw its way.
Just eight seconds into the second half, Osburn sailed the ball past the stick of Shea Dolce, regaining the Tar Heels’ lead. After back-to-back saves for both Dolce and the Tar Heels’ Betty Nelson, both of whom had themselves a day, BC snatched the lead from UNC off back-to-back goals from Driscoll and Davis.
Throughout the action-packed final frame, it remained uncertain who would be hoisting the conference trophy when the clock hit triple zeroes.
BC ran away with a two-goal lead with 10:35 left to play in the game as Clark propelled BC’s offense, but that was the last time the Eagles would have any cushion.
Thanks to three consecutive UNC goals, BC’s lead disintegrated right before the Eagles’ eyes. Marissa White came up big for the Tar Heels with 5:26 left to play, as she restored UNC’s lead, making the scoreboard read 12–11.
And for the rest of the game, BC was playing a game of catch-up with its ACC opponent.
Even though it seemed like a comeback was possible after a Driscoll free-position goal brought the game within one with 1:13 left to play, BC was unable to come up with a win on the draw control immediately after, and UNC ended BC’s bid to own the conference for a third year in a row.
Walker-Weinstein praised both Dolce and Shea Baker for anchoring the team in the championship game despite the loss.
“Shea was so solid today, it’s hard to ask anything more of her and Shea Baker,” Walker-Weinstein said. “Those two are anchoring the team right now. For her to be this consistently excellent to me is off the charts. I think Shea Baker, too, I wish I could scream from the top of the mountain, she is everywhere, and she isn’t getting enough credit for it.”
But Walker-Weinstein also touched on her team’s faults in the matchup.
“It’s unacceptable to miss an end-line run out, and we had three,” Walker-Weinstein said. “We haven’t done that all year. Our team has to feel the weight of those things because we have to make changes, and it’s just unacceptable. It’s unfortunate, and we are going to have to sit with that for a little.”
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