On a sleepy Sunday morning, Boston College lacrosse took the field to face off against a new opponent. Walking into ATC Stadium in DeLand, Fla., the Eagles faced off against Stetson University in the inaugural matchup between the two schools. Coming off of a tough loss to the University of Florida, No. 14 BC (5-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) looked to gain some momentum before heading back to Chestnut Hill to resume ACC play. The Eagles did just that, as 11 first-half goals propelled them to victory over the Stetson Hatters (3-4) by a score of 18-10. BC got on the board early in the game and never looked back. The Eagle offense showed toughness, managing nearly enough shots to match the season high that it set against Navy (38). BC won the major categories on the stat sheet, too, dominating in draw control, ground balls, clears, and turnovers.
The scoring began a mere 14 seconds into the game, as a Tess Chandler goal began an early surge for the Eagles. Sam Apuzzo would score the second goal for the Eagles 40 seconds later. BC continued its run when Sarah Mannelly and Kate Rich each scored to give the Eagles a 4-0 lead just 5:16 into the game. But Stetson’s Christina Wittmeier broke the Eagle streak with the Hatters’ first goal of the game. Weeks would respond for BC, notching her second goal of the game to give the Eagles a 5-1 lead. But the Hatters would come storming back, scoring three straight goals. Lindsey Summers marked the first two of the three within 30 seconds of each other, and Taylor Patrizi also scored to set the score at 6-5. This would be as close as the Hatters would get to tying the game, though, as BC’s offense scored six straight goals to dominate the last 15 minutes of the first half. Along with Apuzzo’s second and third goals of the game, Caroline Zaffino, Laura Frankenfield, Caroline Margolis, and Rich all scored to give the Eagles an 11-4 lead going into halftime.
But halftime would not be helpful to the Hatters, as the BC offense continued to pound away as soon as the half started. Apuzzo scored her fourth goal of the game just 17 seconds into the half. Taylor Walker and Weeks would each add unassisted goals to put the Eagles on a 9-0 run, giving BC a big lead at 14-4. But the streak ended after Stetson’s Patrizi and Julia Lozano scored. The late Stetson rebuttal would be stymied by three Eagle goals, coming from Zaffino, Chandler, and Tara Schurr. With the score at 17-6, the Hatters battled back, scoring four goals in the last 10 minutes of the game. Stetson’s efforts fell short of a comeback, as Zaffino would score her third goal of the game in the last 1:30 to set the final score at 18-10.
With the win over Stetson, the Eagles are now 5-1 in nonconference play. Sam Apuzzo put on a great offensive showing, posting 6 total points for the day (4-2-6). While BC played exceptionally well in this game, it seemed to take its foot off of the gas in last 10 minutes when Stetson scored its last four goals. For the Hatters, the loss sets their record below .500 at 3-4. But Stetson showed toughness in the second half and didn’t stop fighting, even when it looked like BC was going to run away with the game. The Eagle offense had a good day, and the team should look forward to competing against a couple of familiar in-conference foes later in the month.
Featured Image by Julia Hopkins / Heights Editor
