Despite finishing last season under .500 in conference play, Boston College lacrosse qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fifth year in a row. Not only did the Eagles get there, but they booked a trip to the program’s first Final Four and National Championship before losing a tightly-contested title game to top-ranked and undefeated Maryland. Like in years past, BC wasn’t necessarily the best team in the ACC, but because of their rigorous schedule, the Eagles had every opportunity to earn a bid to the dance and make a run for the championship—the same will be true this time around.
On Thursday, head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein released the team’s complete 2018 schedule, one that features seven opponents that cracked the top 25 in last year’s final NCAA RPI rankings.
2018 Schedule (Note: italicization denotes ACC competition):
Feb. 10 at Notre Dame (South Bend, Ind.) *ACC Opener
—> This matchup marks the first time that BC will open its season against an ACC opponent since it hosted Maryland back in 2008. Last year, the Eagles swept the Holy War, beating the Fighting Irish in both the season finale and the first round of the conference tournament.
Feb. 13 Vs. Holy Cross (Newton, Mass.) *Home Opener
Feb. 17 at Boston University (Boston, Mass.)
—> BC has won each of the last eight meetings between the two crosstown rivals, scoring 15 or more goals in five of those games. In 2017, Sam Apuzzo recorded a game-high six goals, leading the Eagles to a narrow 13-11 victory.
Feb. 21 Vs. Massachusetts (Newton, Mass.)
—> Defeating the Minutewomen was the first of many accomplishments for BC last season. Senior Kate Weeks tallied eight goals—a single-game program record—en route to an 18-10 road win, snapping then-No. 15 UMass’ 22-game home winning streak.
Feb. 24 Vs. Brown (Newton, Mass.)
Feb. 27 Vs. Navy (Newton, Mass.)
—> Over the course of the past two years, the Eagles have formed a rivalry of sorts with Navy. There has to be bad blood between the two East Coast teams after what happened a year ago: BC coasted to a 20-11 win in Annapolis, Md. and then went on to pull out a one-goal victory over the Midshipmen in the Final Four to earn a spot in the National Championship.
March 2 Vs. Binghamton (Newton, Mass.)
March 6 at Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.)
—> The Eagles’ trip out West will be their first in four years. They will face off against USC—the same team it ousted in the Elite Eight last season.
March 10 at San Diego State (San Diego, Calif.)
March 17 at Louisville (Louisville, Ky.)
—> After needing overtime to decide its previous two matchups with the Cardinals, BC settled last year’s meeting in no time. The Eagles held then-No. 15 Louisville scoreless for most of the opening half and tacked on the game’s first nine goals on their way to the first of their three wins over ranked ACC opponents.
March 20 at Yale University (New Haven, Conn.)
March 24 Vs. North Carolina (Newton, Mass.)
—> Although BC lost both of its bouts with UNC last year, it consistently gave the Tar Heels fits, staging a pair of second-half comebacks. The Eagles’ second loss to UNC came in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
March 31 at Virginia (Charlottesville, Va.)
—> If BC women’s hockey makes it to the Frozen Four, like it has each of the past three years, dual-sport athlete Kenzie Kent will probably return to the field around this time of the season. The senior’s abridged 2017 campaign began on April 1 against the Cavaliers, and she wasted no time to etch her name into the box score, logging a team-high eight points in the win.
April 7 at Duke (Durham, N.C.)
April 11 Vs. Dartmouth (Newton, Mass.)
April 14 Vs. Virginia Tech (Newton, Mass.)
April 19 Vs. Syracuse (Newton, Mass.)
—> Up until March 2017, the Eagles hadn’t had much luck against Syracuse. BC trailed the Orange, 15-2, in the all-time series and was coming off back-to-back five-plus goal defeats. But then, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Eagles upset Syracuse on the biggest stage, 21-10, jumpstarting their postseason run.
ACC Championship
April 25-29 Vs. TBA (Durham, N.C.)
Featured Image by Keith Carroll / Heights Editor
