Eagles Head To Durham With "Stabilizing Defense"

The 2018 regular season might've been a dream come true for the Boston College lacrosse program. A perfect 17-0 record punctuated its accomplishments, and the Eagles closed the slate with a dramatic, last-second victory over Syracuse. A preseason top ten team, BC earned the right to call itself one of the best in the nation.

On Thursday, though, the congratulations stop and the season begins for real. The ACC Championship gets underway as the top-seeded, No. 2-ranked Boston College Eagles start their postseason drive against Louisville.

"This has been a dream," senior Carly Bell said. "(A regular season ACC championship) is something we've never had before, so we're all very excited. It's really helped us get back into some great practices. We've been really getting after it and putting in the work (for Louisville)."

The postseason represents a challenging but juicy opportunity for BC. The top seed has won the league championship each of the past two seasons, and the Eagles open the tournament with a Cardinal team they already beat once this year - a 19-10 decision on St. Patrick's Day.

That game celebrated the Boston College offense. Dempsey Arsenault broke the Boston College single game draw control record with 12 wins in the circle, and both her and Kaileen Hart scored five points. Tess Chandler and Emma Schurr added hat tricks of their own in four-point efforts as BC steamrolled in the second half.

But the Eagles know that wins in the postseason are anything but assured. BC pulled away in the second half of that game but only led 5-3 at halftime, and Louisville only trailed by one before the offensive exploded.

The message then remains the same: anything can happen, so take nothing for granted, especially when your team is the top dog in the yard.

"Our coaches have always been really excited for the team (winning the ACC Championship)," Bell said. "But they always tell us that it's only today and everyone has a clean slate now. There is no tomorrow since everything from here on out is single elimination. We have to stay focused, and right now everything is on Louisville."

There is never a direct path to winning postseason games, so it becomes imperative to remain true to a team identity. For Boston College, that means stabilizing the back end long enough to let the attack go to work.

"The offense is a lot of press, but the defense is the stabilizer," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein told The Perch's Bill Spaulding this week. "Our defensive coordinator, Jen Kent, is an incredible coach. She's constantly adjusting things, and she's really hard on the girls. She's a great teacher, and I give so much credit to her."

While the attack churns out goals and shot attempts, the BC defense is very quietly wreaking havoc on opposing teams. The Eagles are sixth in the nation in scoring margin at +6.88 goals per game thanks to a defense ranking just outside the top ten in goals against. Both rank best in the league, with no other team touching BC's dominance at both ends.

"Our coaches do a great job in scouting," junior Elizabeth Miller said. "They communicate everything to us, and we practice in a lot of different scenarios so we can make adjustments on the field. Everyone is always adjusting and listening to each other, and that's made us better (as a unit)."

In its last two games, the defense especially showed itself during its crunch time. Two weeks ago, Virginia Tech tied the game at 7-7 with 15 minutes remaining, but the defense clamped down and prevented the Hokies from even attempting another shot on goal.

A few days later, the Eagles surrendered a go-ahead goal to Syracuse with five minutes remaining. After the Orange won the ensuing draw control, BC caused a turnover that led to its own tying goal. The defense then caused another key turnover with 21 seconds remaining that led to Sam Apuzzo's game winner right as time expired.

"We know we're going to face different motions," Bell said. "Our foundation is to prevent anything going to the middle (in front of the net) and to pressure with a relentless style."

"Every game we play, (we've) learned something," Walker said. "We hadn't had some of those tight game scenarios, and I think you're missing out (on key situations) at that point. (The close games) showed that our team could be calm and composed. Plus as the season goes on, there's more film, so it's not easy. It becomes harder to win, especially towards the end of the year when everyone's memorizing what you do."

Being successful defensively is the product of a concentrated and experienced team effort. Bell, a senior, played every game this year along with Miller, and Christina Walsh started 16 times. It's augmented by an equally-experienced midfield and junior goalie Lauren Daly, who played over 1,000 minutes this season.

"Our returning players have seen a lot of time with each other," Miller said. "That's really key because we all have our teammates' back. We can help out one another if someone has a hiccup on defense, and we can pick each other up so even with that hiccup, we don't allow a goal."

It'll take every ounce of teamwork at both ends for the Eagles to fufill their postseason aspirations. Louisville is only the first hurdle; should BC advance, it would play the winner of Notre Dame-Virginia on Friday evening with the ACC Championship Game looming on Sunday. That means back-to-back games and three games in four days if BC wants to continue its perfect season.

"We just focus on everything we can control," Walker said. "We're strict on the road on protecting our bodies with sleep and treatments and ice baths. We try to harness everything that we can control and play as hard as we can for every single game."

"Preparation is key," Bell echoed. "We have to fuel our bodies properly. That means stretching and sleep, eating and hydrating. The temperatures are going to be hot (in Durham), so preparation is our focus point. Fortunately we will have some downtime (to refuel)."

"There is no tomorrow," Miller said. "We're excited for our seed, but it doesn't mean anything (in the postseason). We don't want this to end; we want to keep playing games."

The Eagles play Louisville on Thursday at 11 a.m. on Raycom Sports Network, which is broadcast locally on NESN. The game can also be seen via ESPN Online in markets that are not blacked out.

Eagles Head To Durham With "Stabilizing Defense"

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Players Mentioned

Sam Apuzzo

Dempsey Arsenault

Carly Bell

Tess Chandler

Lauren Daly

Kaileen Hart

Elizabeth Miller

Emma Schurr

Christina Walsh