Photo by: John Quackenbos
Red-Hot Lacrosse Heads to ACC Tournament for Notre Dame Rematch
April 25, 2017 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
4-1 in their last five games, Boston College now heads to Richmond in search of ACC glory.
For Boston College head lacrosse coach Acacia Walker, a season finale win over Notre Dame was pretty satisfying. Having trailed 7-5 at halftime, the Eagles dominated the second half en route to a 16-10 victory. They outshot the Fighting Irish, 21-10, and finished the game a perfect 16-for-16 on clears defensively.
But it wasn't satisfying because of the result, which was the team's second consecutive win. She wasn't even satisfied that the win clinched the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament. It wasn't because BC assured itself of a rematch with the Fighting Irish in the league championship. Instead, she was happy at pointing to the result as a byproduct of hard work.
"We had just worked really hard in practice," she said. "We had a really hard week of preparation, and that really was better for me than to even win. It's great when your team shows up to work every day and continues to try and get better."
Stressing results as a byproduct isn't just "coach speak." A loss to North Carolina dropped BC to 1-3 in the league at the end of March. Staring down its last five games, the Eagles ripped off a 4-1 record. They scored 19 goals against Yale, then dominated Virginia at home, 17-10. After a setback against Duke, they beat Dartmouth on the road before returning home for Senior Day against Notre Dame.
"We had some good, local, non-conference rivalries," Walker said. "They were just as much of a mental rally for us as ACC games were. We play everyone from our region and there's some really good competition in those games. I think that makes us pretty lucky because it allows us to stay mentally checked in and dialed in for every game."
Those wins serve a distinct purpose. The ACC finished the season as tightly-packed as ever, with two games separating third place from seventh. A fifth loss would've dropped BC into a tie for sixth with a Virginia Tech team that won its head-to-head earlier in the year. That would've likely meant a first-round matchup with second-place Syracuse. Instead, the win tied BC with Louisville, who it defeated, 14-11, back on March 18.
And though Walker's team finished 3-4 in the league, the Eagles easily could've been 5-2. BC lost two games by three goals or less, including a 15-13 decision at North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the regular season championship with a 6-1 record. That means BC was just as close to finishing first as they were to finishing seventh. It also means that this week in Richmond likely will be one of the most competitive fields ever.
"We need to start stronger as a team," Walker said. "In our losses this year, we did not start strong, but if you look at our wins, we tended to come out better. Those hot starts keep us mentally checked into games. When you have to catch up to a team over a 60-minute game, it becomes really hard. You simply can't play catch-up for a whole game. So we know that we need to repeat the work that we did this past week, but we need to be better if we want to beat Notre Dame again (on Wednesday)."
It's a Notre Dame team featuring some of the nation's best individual talents. Cortney Fortunato is among the nation's best scorers with 54 goals, an average of over three goals per game. She's one of four Fighting Irish with 25 or more goals, including Casey Pearsall, who added 27 assists for 52 points. They comprise half of the team's 10-goal scorers.
But BC counters with an attack that averages about a full goal more than Notre Dame. Sam Apuzzo and Kate Weeks counter Fortunato's output with 55 and 54 goals, respectively, while Kayle O'Connor and Kaileen Hart both posted 50-assist seasons. That doesn't include Kenzie Kent, the two-sport standout who rejoined lacrosse following her hockey season. In five games, Kent's scored 30 points, including 12 goals. Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault and Elizabeth Miller are big reasons for that, combining for 119 draw controls to catalyze and kick off an attack.
That doesn't include a defense that effectively shut down Notre Dame's attack. Fortunato scored the game's first goal, then didn't score again. Pearsall recorded a hat trick but one of her goals came on a free position. Only two other Notre Dame players scored more than once, including Grace Muller, who only scored twice on four shots, one of which was on a free position.
"Our attack against Notre Dame was led by our draw controls," Walker said. "When they were beating us, we made some landslide adjustments and cleaned up our stickwork. We started playing really good 1-on-1 defense. They had been killing us in transition, and we weren't urgent enough to slow Notre Dame down. They got the ball to some of their scorers, which put us on our heels. They are so darn good, and they have some of the best players around. But we know what we have to do, and we have to be ready for it on Thursday."
The Eagles and Fighting Irish will open up the ACC Championship on Thursday at 2 p.m. The game is presented on Regional Sports Networks, which will be broadcast locally on NESN Plus, along with ACC Network Extra.
But it wasn't satisfying because of the result, which was the team's second consecutive win. She wasn't even satisfied that the win clinched the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament. It wasn't because BC assured itself of a rematch with the Fighting Irish in the league championship. Instead, she was happy at pointing to the result as a byproduct of hard work.
"We had just worked really hard in practice," she said. "We had a really hard week of preparation, and that really was better for me than to even win. It's great when your team shows up to work every day and continues to try and get better."
Stressing results as a byproduct isn't just "coach speak." A loss to North Carolina dropped BC to 1-3 in the league at the end of March. Staring down its last five games, the Eagles ripped off a 4-1 record. They scored 19 goals against Yale, then dominated Virginia at home, 17-10. After a setback against Duke, they beat Dartmouth on the road before returning home for Senior Day against Notre Dame.
"We had some good, local, non-conference rivalries," Walker said. "They were just as much of a mental rally for us as ACC games were. We play everyone from our region and there's some really good competition in those games. I think that makes us pretty lucky because it allows us to stay mentally checked in and dialed in for every game."
Those wins serve a distinct purpose. The ACC finished the season as tightly-packed as ever, with two games separating third place from seventh. A fifth loss would've dropped BC into a tie for sixth with a Virginia Tech team that won its head-to-head earlier in the year. That would've likely meant a first-round matchup with second-place Syracuse. Instead, the win tied BC with Louisville, who it defeated, 14-11, back on March 18.
And though Walker's team finished 3-4 in the league, the Eagles easily could've been 5-2. BC lost two games by three goals or less, including a 15-13 decision at North Carolina. The Tar Heels won the regular season championship with a 6-1 record. That means BC was just as close to finishing first as they were to finishing seventh. It also means that this week in Richmond likely will be one of the most competitive fields ever.
"We need to start stronger as a team," Walker said. "In our losses this year, we did not start strong, but if you look at our wins, we tended to come out better. Those hot starts keep us mentally checked into games. When you have to catch up to a team over a 60-minute game, it becomes really hard. You simply can't play catch-up for a whole game. So we know that we need to repeat the work that we did this past week, but we need to be better if we want to beat Notre Dame again (on Wednesday)."
It's a Notre Dame team featuring some of the nation's best individual talents. Cortney Fortunato is among the nation's best scorers with 54 goals, an average of over three goals per game. She's one of four Fighting Irish with 25 or more goals, including Casey Pearsall, who added 27 assists for 52 points. They comprise half of the team's 10-goal scorers.
But BC counters with an attack that averages about a full goal more than Notre Dame. Sam Apuzzo and Kate Weeks counter Fortunato's output with 55 and 54 goals, respectively, while Kayle O'Connor and Kaileen Hart both posted 50-assist seasons. That doesn't include Kenzie Kent, the two-sport standout who rejoined lacrosse following her hockey season. In five games, Kent's scored 30 points, including 12 goals. Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault and Elizabeth Miller are big reasons for that, combining for 119 draw controls to catalyze and kick off an attack.
That doesn't include a defense that effectively shut down Notre Dame's attack. Fortunato scored the game's first goal, then didn't score again. Pearsall recorded a hat trick but one of her goals came on a free position. Only two other Notre Dame players scored more than once, including Grace Muller, who only scored twice on four shots, one of which was on a free position.
"Our attack against Notre Dame was led by our draw controls," Walker said. "When they were beating us, we made some landslide adjustments and cleaned up our stickwork. We started playing really good 1-on-1 defense. They had been killing us in transition, and we weren't urgent enough to slow Notre Dame down. They got the ball to some of their scorers, which put us on our heels. They are so darn good, and they have some of the best players around. But we know what we have to do, and we have to be ready for it on Thursday."
The Eagles and Fighting Irish will open up the ACC Championship on Thursday at 2 p.m. The game is presented on Regional Sports Networks, which will be broadcast locally on NESN Plus, along with ACC Network Extra.
Players Mentioned
A
/ Lacrosse
M
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
D
/ Lacrosse
A
/ LacrosseFootball: Owen McGowan Postgame Press Conference (Sept. 14, 2025)
Sunday, September 14
Football: Reed Harris Postgame Media (Sept. 14, 2025)
Sunday, September 14
Football Availability - Coach O'Brien Media Availability
Sunday, September 14
Football: Head Coach Bill O'Brien Media Availability (September 11, 2025)
Thursday, September 11
