ACC Championship Preview: No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 2 North Carolina

To be the champ, you need to beat the champ. And for Boston College's women's lacrosse team, one team stands in the way of winning a conference postseason championship - the reigning champion.

One game remains in the 2018 ACC Championship, with a matchup on Sunday to determine the conference champions. In one corner is the No. 2-ranked, top-seeded Eagles, an absolute powerhouse with an unblemished 19-0 record. In the other corner is North Carolina, the two-time defending league champions, ranked No. 5 in the nation and second-seeded in the ACC.

For both teams, so much is at stake. The Eagles seek to become just the second BC team to win an ACC conference tournament and first since men's soccer in 2007. They're also looking to keep pace with No. 1 Stony Brook defeated Albany on Saturday in its regular season finale, as the only undefeated teams in the nation.

Winning on Sunday gives the Eagles a case to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, but a loss would likely drop BC. The undefeated record is the razor-thin cushion between them and the teams right behind them, including Maryland, who is the defending national champions with one loss and a Big Ten championship, and UNC.

But BC has to go through the Tar Heels in order to clinch all of that. It's the first-ever ACC Championships final for the Eagles, but it's the fourth consecutive and seventh in the past eight years for UNC. It defeated Syracuse each of the past two years and has an unmatched pedigree in the nation's most elite lacrosse conference. It would also provide a little extra for UNC to win the championship this year at Koskinen Stadium on the campus of Duke, its ancient, hated rival.

BC might be undefeated, but UNC hasn't lost in a long time. It's won eight straight games and has only one loss since opening with a 3-2 record. The losses came to teams that are a combined 46-4. The Tar Heels' last loss came to Boston College and one of those other losses was in double-overtime in the season opener to James Madison, a team that only lost to Maryland - the aforementioned defending national champions making a case for the No. 1 overall seed.

The Eagles might be 18-0, but they're not going to be simply awarded the conference championship. North Carolina is going to make them earn it on Sunday afternoon.

Here's a look at what to expect on Sunday:

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Game Day Matchups

Boston College attack vs. North Carolina defense

Boston College's vaunted attack peppered its second opponent of the postseason on Friday, lighting up the Notre Dame net for 40 shots, including 25 in the first half, in a 17-7 victory. Its three leading goal scorers - Sam Apuzzo, Dempsey Arsenault and Kaileen Hart - scored a combined 11 goals. If the Eagles are going to push past the North Carolina defense, it'll need a big performance from those players.

The trio are having a monster year, combining for an absurd 173 goals. That's just as many goals as the entire Albany team that played Stony Brook on today, and it is more goals than approximately half of the entire NCAA Division I programs'.

But Apuzzo, Arsenault and Hart only account for 60% of the Boston College attack. The Eagles have 308 goals in 19 games, more than any other team in the nation. Five other Eagles have 10 or more goals, including Tess Chandler with 35 and Emma Schurr with 21.

It's a matchup the Eagles have to exploit. North Carolina's scoring defense ranks No. 30 in the nation, and the Tar Heels allow almost two full goals more than the Eagles per game. UNC can outscore virtually anybody, but it surrendered 12 goals to Syracuse in its ACC tournament opening game. That's one less than what BC gave up in its two games combined.

BC has been deadly in peppering defenses. The Eagles attempted 35 shots in their first game against North Carolina, 28 shots landed on goal and 17 went in. On Friday against Notre Dame, Boston College attempted 41 shots, 30 on goal and 17 were goals.

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Boston College defense vs. North Carolina attack

The most direct route for a Tar Heel victory is to turn this game into a track meet.

UNC's attack is virtually equal with the Eagles. BC might have 35 more goals, but it also played two more games. On average, the Tar Heels strike for 16 goals per game compared with BC's 16.17.

The scoring comes from a multi-faceted approach. Katie Hoeg and Ela Hazar lead the team in points but rank third and fourth, respectively, in goals. Marie McCool and Jamie Ortega lead in that respect with 53 and 52 goals. An additional five players have 10 or more goals, including Kara Klages, who has 26, and Maggie Bill, who will break the 20-goal mark with her next strike.

That's going to tax the Eagle defense, which stepped up when called upon in that first meeting back in March. The Tar Heels led by two with eight minutes remaining in the first half, then did not score again before the break after only attempting four shots, two of which were on free positions. BC, meanwhile, scored three times and controlled possession for the final four minutes.

The Eagles never trailed after that, though the Tar Heels did tie the score with the first goal of the second half.

Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein mentioned controlling things the team can actually control after the Louisville game. The Eagles had more shots and ground balls won in the first half than Notre Dame had in the entire game on Friday. They committed only eight fouls in the first half and limited turnovers throughout the game. As a result, BC led 11-4 at halftime and won by 10.

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Boston College midfield vs. North Carolina midfield

One way to limit an opponent's attack is to simply control time of possession. That's done through three main avenues: winning draw controls and forcing errors on ground balls and clear attempts.

The teams are virtually even on draw controls, with BC winning 308 to North Carolina's 270 this year. Both have clear percentages over 90%, and both the Eagles and Tar Heels have been perfect in a combined three of their four cumulative postseason games. And both have been smothering teams on ground balls.

This is going to create an interesting chess match between the two teams. Each opportunity will become that much more critical.

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Meteorology 101

North Carolina's great equalizer would be a hot, muggy day, but Sunday is going to be absolutely gorgeous. There's going to be clear sunshine, and temperatures aren't going to crack 65 degrees. It's also not going to be that humid. That's a huge plus, considering it's going to push 90 in Durham later in the week.

Think about that when it's 50 degrees and raining in Boston on Sunday.

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Prediction Time/Pregame Zen

Big time players make big plays in big time games. -Santana Moss

BC enters this game with one of the most impeccable reputations in college lacrosse. The team's been loaded all year, answering the bell every time an opponent offers a challenge. At this point, everyone wants to slay Goliath, with the ever-present zero offering the greatest opportunity for the postseason.

But that reputation is earned because the Eagles proved they could beat anyone in any conditions on any given playing field. When the undefeated season was on the line against Virginia Tech and Syracuse, the big-time players made the big-time plays. Against Louisville and Notre Dame, the big-time players made the big time plays when it mattered most.

Do it again on Sunday against North Carolina, and more hardware could be making its way home to Chestnut Hill.

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Where To Watch

The game will start at 1 p.m. Koskinen Stadium on the campus of Duke University. The game will be carried on the ACC Network Extra and in New England NESNPlus. The ACC Network Extra stream will be subject to blackout.

ACC Championship Preview: No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 2 North Carolina

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