Boston College lacrosse head coach Acacia-Walker Weinstein and Sam Apuzzo have come full circle.
Apuzzo was a two-time Tewaaraton finalist on Walker-Weinstein’s BC teams. Then, she joined Walker-Weinstein’s coaching staff.
Now, Apuzzo is being coached again. Apuzzo and Walker-Weinstein are participating in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) President’s Cup, a training camp for the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship, starting Friday in Bradenton, Fla. Walker-Weinstein is bringing along eight Eagles on her training camp roster.
“I’m just proud of them,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I think they represent Boston College with so much pride. And I think, truthfully, they’ve elevated the U.S. playing level.”
The team will have two open practices on Friday and an intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday. More than 500 teams and 10,000 athletes will attend the event.
“I think it’s awesome,” Apuzzo said. “I think I remember watching the U.S. players when I was that age and just seeing how they played and seeing how they interacted with each other, it teaches you a lot as a young player.”
Apuzzo won the 2022 world championship with Team USA, racking up three goals and two assists in the gold medal match.
“[Apuzzo] is playing the best lacrosse she’s ever played right now,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She’s the best coach she’s ever been right now. And I just think she never sits back and she never rests, and she’s never complacent or content.”
Shea Baker and Shea Dolce still have a season of BC lacrosse remaining. They are two of 12 college athletes on the roster.
“Having been a part of [the U.S. process] for 20-some years as a player and as a coach, it’s hard to be consistently excellent in those training weekends because the level of talent is just so high,” Walker-Weinstein said. “But I think that Shea Baker and Shea Dolce have brought that almost every single training weekend that I’ve been a part of, and that’s really, really difficult to do.”
Apuzzo has coached every BC player on the roster besides Kenzie Kent, who was her teammate from 2016–2018.
“In no other scenario would I ever get to play with these players, other than U.S,” Apuzzo said. “To be able to play with Shea Dolce and Shea Baker—even the more recent grads, with Emma [LoPinto] and Rachel [Clark]—it’s such a cool experience, because I’ve coached them for so many years, at this point, their whole college careers, and now to see them wearing the jersey, I feel so much pride.”
The World Championship will take place in July 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. It might be Apuzzo’s last championship as a player.
“[Acacia has] been my mentor since I’ve got to BC, even before then—now being able to coach with her, and then to have a chance to get coached by her again, is really special, really full circle for me as a player, as a person,” Apuzzo said. “I’m not ready to give up U.S. [lacrosse] quite yet, but I think this would be just the icing on the cake of my career for international play.”
