First Time Visits To Florida, Stetson On Tap This Weekend

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - For the first time in program history, the Eagles travel to The University of Florida to kick off a weekend series at the No. 2 Gators (Friday, 6:30 pm) before heading south to Stetson (Sunday, 11:30 a.m.). This is BC's first ever matchup with either school and only the second time that they have played in the sunshine state. The maroon and gold previously traveled to Jacksonville in 2010.

FRIDAY
No. 14 Boston College (4-2, 0-0 ACC)
at No. 2 Florida (7-0, 0-0 Big East)

SUNDAY
No. 14 Boston College (4-2, 0-0 ACC)
at Stetson (3-2, 0-0 Atlantic Sun)

GAME NOTES

In the most recent college lacrosse polls, BC remained at 14 in both the IWLCA and Nike/Lacrosse Magazine polls. The Eagles are one of seven ACC teams in the conference listed in the top-20 of both polls, with four ACC schools holding the three through six spots, respectively.
When the Eagles play at Florida Friday evening, this will be their first matchup against a top-2 team since March 21, 2015, when the Eagles defeated North Carolina 10-9 (OT). In that game, Mikaela Rix tallied four goals and Sarah Mannelly added three for the matchup of two of the top-3 teams in the nation at that point in time last season. Coach Acacia Walker is seeking her second win against a top-2 team while at the helm of the Eagles program.
Florida enters the inaugural game with BC holding a 7-0 record, including four wins against teams ranked in the top-13 of the IWLCA poll. The Gators have previously defeated No. 13 Loyola, No. 2 North Carolina, No.2 Syracuse and No.10 Stony Brook this season. They have two Tewaaraton Watch List members on their roster.
Stetson also enters the weekend the winners of three straight, boasting a record of 3-2. The Hatters, who play game number six of the season vs. No. 18 Towson on Friday, have defeated Cincinnati, Presbyterian and Radford on their current streak after early season losses to Fresno State and Southern California.
Entering the week, Boston College sits at seventh place in the ACC with its 4-2 (0-2 ACC) record. They are fourth in conference in points per game (16.33), shots per game (28.67) and saves per game (7.33) while fifth in turnovers per game (14.83). Individually, Sam Apuzzo and Sarah Mannelly are tied for ninth in the conference, averaging 2.17 goals per game while Mannelly and Caroline Margolis are tied for ninth in assists per game (1.17). Mannelly is sixth in the ACC in shots per game (5.53). Defensively, Molly Erdle is fifth in caused turnovers per game (1.83) while Brooke Troy sits at sixth in the conference; averaging 1.50 caused turnovers per game. Zoe Ochoa also cracks the top-10 in goals against average and save percentage.
At the national level, Zoe Ochoa's 8.31 goals against average is 29th best across Div. I while her 39 saves are the 31st most amongst 147 NCAA ranked goalies.
In Saturday's 17-9 win over Navy, the Eagles earned their 200th program win, dating back to the 1992 season, the first season as a varsity sport at The Heights. In addition to the milestone win, Sarah Mannelly became only the seventh player in team history to tally 200 career points. With her four goals, she also moved from eighth place to sixth place in the all-time goals at BC and is only seven goals shy of 155 career goals, which would move her into a tie for fifth all-time.
Sarah Mannelly moved into sole possession of fifth place in the Eagles all-time assists record with her first of three tallies against UMass on March 2. She had surpassed Kristin Igoe (2008-12), who totaled 50 assists over five years.
Junior goalkeeper Zoe Ochoa moved into ninth place all-time in the program's career saves record with her 169th career save, which she tallied in the second half against UMass. With the feat, she surpassed Valerie Leuchs' record of 168 career saves, which was set during the 1999-00 seasons. Following Saturday's game with Navy, she is only 23 saves shy of career save number 200.
On Tuesday, February 23, three Eagles were among 18 female student athletes from the ACC to be named to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, a list of the top-50 women's lacrosse players from across the NCAA. Sarah Mannelly, Caroline Margolis and Kenzie Kent were all included on the list. Mannelly and Margolis have both had positive impacts to start off the season, while Kenzie Kent has yet to join the team due to her commitment to the women's ice hockey team. At 38-0-0, Kent's hockey team is ranked no. 1 in the country and is the top seed in the NCAA Tournament. They take on Northeastern University on Saturday, March 12 with a chance to go to the Women's Frozen Four the weekend of March 19-20.
On Wednesday, February 17, when the Eagles defeated Holy Cross 19-6, Caroline Margolis became the 20th player in program history to record 100 career points, a feat she accomplished with her first half goal.
Freshman Sam Apuzzo recorded her ninth goal of the season on Wednesday, March 2 in a non-conference win over UMass. The West Babylon, N.Y. native continues to show dominance early in her collegiate career. She has 14 points through six games, including two four-goal games. In the Holy Cross game, she tallied eight draw controls, which were the fifth most ever in a single game for a BC player. She was also the first Eagle to record a hat trick in her first collegiate game since Sarah Mannelly did so in 2013.
Coach Acacia Walker is now four wins away from tallying her 50th career win as head coach of the Eagles. Her current .697 winning percentage is the highest among BC coaches all time, dating back to the first year as a varsity program in 1992.

LAST TIME OUT

The Eagles earned their 200th program win this past Saturday in a non-conference victory over Navy at the Newton Campus Lacrosse Field. Senior Sarah Mannelly tallied her 200th career point in the win over the the Midshipmen while she moved into sixth place in the BC record book for career goals with 148.

NEXT UP

The maroon and gold will return home from Florida for a two-game home stand that includes Syracuse and North Carolina, two teams that advanced to the Final Four last season and who are currently ranked in the top-five of both the IWLCA and Lacrosse Magazine polls.

Throughout the season, make sure to stay up to date with all the Boston College lacrosse news by searching the hashtag #BCEagles and following @BCWlax on Twitter and Instagram.

First Time Visits To Florida, Stetson On Tap This Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sam Apuzzo

Molly Erdle

Kenzie Kent

Sarah Mannelly

Caroline Margolis

Zoe Ochoa

Mikaela Rix

Brooke Troy

First Time Visits To Florida, Stetson On Tap This Weekend

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Sam Apuzzo

Molly Erdle

Kenzie Kent

Sarah Mannelly

Caroline Margolis

Zoe Ochoa

Mikaela Rix

Brooke Troy

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