Sunday, May 27
Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium in Stony Brook, NY
Noon
Boston College
vs
James Madison University
One More Hill Remains for Eagles in Long Island
May 26, 2018 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
BC plays on Sunday for the national championship against No. 3 James Madison
Eight minutes remained in No. 4 Boston College's NCAA Semifinal matchup with No. 1 Maryland. A clock wound down on the Long Island night with the drama only heightened by the Eagles. They trailed at one point by four goals, but it didn't matter anymore. All that mattered was getting the next one since the second half transformed the game into an emotional seesaw reminiscent of last weekend against Stony Brook.
Sam Apuzzo stood behind the Terrapin cage, weaving back and forth with a neon yellow lacrosse ball in her crosse. Cradling right, she turned back towards the far post, then stopped and cut back. Her defender fell down, gifting her the opportunity she needed. She turned on the wheels, moved to her left, cut around the cage. A new defender met her and delivered a big hit that sent the West Babylon, New York native flying to the turf.
It didn't matter. The ensuing bedlam told the defense all they needed to know. The Terrapins were a split second too slow, and the Eagles had the lead.
"I (have been) working on dodging from behind (the net) for this whole week," Apuzzo said. "So when I got the ball, I just knew that that was kind of my job to do. After that goal, it definitely added to the momentum going forward because we were kind of rolling at that point."
Less than a minute later, Apuzzo scored again, this time by bulldozing forward from the outside arc of the fan. The insurance goal gave BC a little breathing room, and the rest of the Eagles took it from there, dethroning the defending national champions with a 15-13 victory to advance to the NCAA Championship.
It's an effort indicative of what the Tewaaraton Award finalist brings to the table. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein acknowledged and indicated as much earlier in the tournament when the Eagles beat Stony Brook. "Sam is so locked in for those moments," she said. "When we look at her, we can say, 'Hey Sam, go win it.' And she will just look back and say, 'Okay.' She's very icy and confident in her teammates. She finds ways to score (big goals)."
It's the real-life moment when Jimmy Chitwood looks at his team and says, "I'll make it" when he wants to win the championship in Hoosiers. It's when Herb Brooks tells his team, "You were born to be hockey players" in Miracle. It's the moment perfectly scripted when the crowd desperately wishes for that moment, and the best player on the field responds.
"She's a great kid and a great person, and she worked so hard," Walker-Weinstein said after the Maryland win. "My favorite thing is that she never goes away. She was not playing well in the first half, and I just told her, 'Sam, you were born for this. This is what you made for - this moment.' And she came out and scored a couple of quick goals. She's really a clutch player. It's amazing to me to watch."
Apuzzo finished the Maryland game with four goals, raising her season total to 85 goals and 122 points. It shatters her own single-season points record set a year ago, and it brings her career total to 266. Now third in the Boston College career record books, there's good reason to believe the junior will finish her career in 2019 by joining Covie Stanwick and Lauren Miller in the annals of history. Miller sits within grasp at 272 points, with Stanwick ahead with 309 points.
Boston College dethroned the national champion on Friday night. The Eagles defeated Maryland for the first time in program history. The Maroon and Gold knocked off the preeminent dynasty in all of women's lacrosse, led by a player who could and likely should win the award as the best in her craft.
James Madison awaits on Sunday.
Game Day Storylines
And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. -Preacher Purl, Hoosiers
2018 will crown a first-time national champion in women's lacrosse when No. 4 Boston College plays No. 3 James Madison after the Dukes defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 15-12, in the first semifinal game. So you'll have to indulge another Hoosiers quote, especially since the topic of "Goliath" came up during Acacia Walker-Weinstein's postgame press conference.
"The sport is growing, and there's more and more people playing," Walker-Weinstein said. "There's a higher level of talent in multiple different schools, and I think it just speaks to the growth of the game. (JMU head coach) Shelly Klaes-Bawcombe is such an amazing coach, and I think a lot of people have known that for a long time."
JMU and BC provide perfect bookends to the depth of local talent in lacrosse . Located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Dukes have 18 players from the Commonwealth and Maryland combined. BC, meanwhile, mined its home region for 21 players from either New England (majorly Massachusetts) and New York, though it should be noted nine players on the JMU roster are from the Empire State. Both are also the "lower seeded" teams from the semifinals after top teams Maryland and North Carolina, both of which won power conference postseason tournaments.
Sport foundations are often built on dynasties, but parity and diversity is permeating more and more through college sports. Michigan, for example, won six national championships in men's hockey in the sport's first decade. A half-century later, five first-time champions won in a six-year span.
Johns Hopkins won four men's lacrosse national championships in the tournament's first decade. The present decade produced three first-time champions, including Duke's three titles alone ('10, '13, '14).
Saint Louis won eight men's soccer national championships between 1959-1970. Contrast that with five first-time champions since 2006, including Stanford, which earned a three-peat this year.
No team in women's lacrosse has a bigger dynasty than Maryland. The Terrapins found themselves ushered off center stage in favor of two teams jockeying to become the next first-time champ.
"They're such a historical team," Walker-Weinstein said. "Cathy (Reese) is a mentor and one of the heroes in my life. It's a big deal, and I think I'm just proud of the girls for working so hard throughout the year. I think we were prepared for (Maryland). It was going to take everything we had."
See you, Sunday.
This year might produce a first-time champion, but it's not exactly going to be a handout. A team in a national championship game is always deserving of that trophy, and James Madison comes in with that certain swagger on paper earned by winning often.
The Dukes' only loss was in March when they dropped a 15-12 decision on the road to Maryland. JMU beat North Carolina twice, including on Friday, and beat Towson twice in two weeks. In the NCAA Tournament, the Dukes handled Virginia and No. 6 Florida at home to advance to the Final Four.
Five players have 50 points or more, including Kristen Gaudian, who has 93 points and 77 goals. Gaudian is downright lethal, having put 91% of her shots on goal and putting 65% of her shots past goalkeepers. Behind her, Elena Romesburg has 63 goals, while Hanna Haven and Haley Warden both have 40 goals or more.
In net, Molly Dougherty posted 10 saves in net against Towson in the CAA Championship, then stoned 12 shots against Virginia, eight against Florida and 12 against North Carolina.
"They have an amazing team and are so well coached," Walker-Weinstein said. "Their zone is tough. Their goalie was lights out (on Friday). They've had an incredible year and they're obviously hungry. They're in a similar place where we were last year so we will have our hands full."
JMU's defense will also shift the Eagles back into attacking a zone after Maryland presented a man-to-man set. BC last saw a zone against the Seawolves in the game in Newton.
"Stony Brook's zone was excellent," Walker-Weinstein said. "It's really tough to break into and it's a different mentality going against a zone versus a (man-to-man). Last year, we faced a similar situation where we were playing against zone on the Friday night (against Navy) and then had to switch of with one day to go prepare against the man (against Maryland). Luckily we've seen really good zones. We've seen North Carolina's zone. We've seen Stony Brook's zone. Hopefully we can reach back and pull some experience from those games."
Long Island's College Team
Boston College has a natural home base in New York City and Long Island. There's a huge alumni presence, and the Eagle brand always seems to cycle back into the Big Apple and its greater metropolitan area (see also: Pinstripe Bowl). Combined with BC's New York-based roster makeup, this year's team is enjoying a similar home field advantage to the one it enjoyed last year at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
"It's definitely cool coming home to Long Island, but I think to win that game anywhere is really cool in front of anyone," goalkeeper Lauren Daly said. "But it is cool to come home; I only live 20 minutes away."
Playing for a national championship is always special and an honor, but the Eagle fan support is second-to-none in its second home base.
Meteorology 101
Saturday is going to see temperatures climb into the 80s on Long Island, with partly cloudy skies and an abundance of sunshine. It might seem hot, especially on a turf field, but it would constitute a really beautiful day for anyone going out to see someone crowned national champion.
The game is not on Saturday.
Sunday's weather? Rain. 60 degrees. Some wind. Or as someone who is crowned national champion would call it: "a really beautiful day."
Pregame Zen/Prediction Time
Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself. -Bear Bryant
It would be great to say that a key to victory is as clear-cut as Person X doing Y or Person 1 doing things 2, 3 and 4, but a one-game playoff is never that transparent. There are too many variables and wild cards that make it so hard to predict.
But if Boston College's team can play together as one, the entire Eagle family will rejoice. The Eagles haven't yet celebrated a national championship on behalf of the Atlantic Coast Conference. All of that can change on Sunday afternoon as the entire family, from Chestnut Hill to Long Island points well beyond all pull together in support of the warriors who take the field to represent it.
Boston College and James Madison will start the national championship game at 12 p.m. at Stony Brook's Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU and can also be seen on mobile devices via the WatchESPN app.
Sam Apuzzo stood behind the Terrapin cage, weaving back and forth with a neon yellow lacrosse ball in her crosse. Cradling right, she turned back towards the far post, then stopped and cut back. Her defender fell down, gifting her the opportunity she needed. She turned on the wheels, moved to her left, cut around the cage. A new defender met her and delivered a big hit that sent the West Babylon, New York native flying to the turf.
It didn't matter. The ensuing bedlam told the defense all they needed to know. The Terrapins were a split second too slow, and the Eagles had the lead.
"I (have been) working on dodging from behind (the net) for this whole week," Apuzzo said. "So when I got the ball, I just knew that that was kind of my job to do. After that goal, it definitely added to the momentum going forward because we were kind of rolling at that point."
Less than a minute later, Apuzzo scored again, this time by bulldozing forward from the outside arc of the fan. The insurance goal gave BC a little breathing room, and the rest of the Eagles took it from there, dethroning the defending national champions with a 15-13 victory to advance to the NCAA Championship.
It's an effort indicative of what the Tewaaraton Award finalist brings to the table. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein acknowledged and indicated as much earlier in the tournament when the Eagles beat Stony Brook. "Sam is so locked in for those moments," she said. "When we look at her, we can say, 'Hey Sam, go win it.' And she will just look back and say, 'Okay.' She's very icy and confident in her teammates. She finds ways to score (big goals)."
It's the real-life moment when Jimmy Chitwood looks at his team and says, "I'll make it" when he wants to win the championship in Hoosiers. It's when Herb Brooks tells his team, "You were born to be hockey players" in Miracle. It's the moment perfectly scripted when the crowd desperately wishes for that moment, and the best player on the field responds.
"She's a great kid and a great person, and she worked so hard," Walker-Weinstein said after the Maryland win. "My favorite thing is that she never goes away. She was not playing well in the first half, and I just told her, 'Sam, you were born for this. This is what you made for - this moment.' And she came out and scored a couple of quick goals. She's really a clutch player. It's amazing to me to watch."
Apuzzo finished the Maryland game with four goals, raising her season total to 85 goals and 122 points. It shatters her own single-season points record set a year ago, and it brings her career total to 266. Now third in the Boston College career record books, there's good reason to believe the junior will finish her career in 2019 by joining Covie Stanwick and Lauren Miller in the annals of history. Miller sits within grasp at 272 points, with Stanwick ahead with 309 points.
Boston College dethroned the national champion on Friday night. The Eagles defeated Maryland for the first time in program history. The Maroon and Gold knocked off the preeminent dynasty in all of women's lacrosse, led by a player who could and likely should win the award as the best in her craft.
James Madison awaits on Sunday.
Game Day Storylines
And David put his hand in the bag and took out a stone and slung it. And it struck the Philistine on the head and he fell to the ground. Amen. -Preacher Purl, Hoosiers
2018 will crown a first-time national champion in women's lacrosse when No. 4 Boston College plays No. 3 James Madison after the Dukes defeated No. 2 North Carolina, 15-12, in the first semifinal game. So you'll have to indulge another Hoosiers quote, especially since the topic of "Goliath" came up during Acacia Walker-Weinstein's postgame press conference.
"The sport is growing, and there's more and more people playing," Walker-Weinstein said. "There's a higher level of talent in multiple different schools, and I think it just speaks to the growth of the game. (JMU head coach) Shelly Klaes-Bawcombe is such an amazing coach, and I think a lot of people have known that for a long time."
JMU and BC provide perfect bookends to the depth of local talent in lacrosse . Located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, the Dukes have 18 players from the Commonwealth and Maryland combined. BC, meanwhile, mined its home region for 21 players from either New England (majorly Massachusetts) and New York, though it should be noted nine players on the JMU roster are from the Empire State. Both are also the "lower seeded" teams from the semifinals after top teams Maryland and North Carolina, both of which won power conference postseason tournaments.
Sport foundations are often built on dynasties, but parity and diversity is permeating more and more through college sports. Michigan, for example, won six national championships in men's hockey in the sport's first decade. A half-century later, five first-time champions won in a six-year span.
Johns Hopkins won four men's lacrosse national championships in the tournament's first decade. The present decade produced three first-time champions, including Duke's three titles alone ('10, '13, '14).
Saint Louis won eight men's soccer national championships between 1959-1970. Contrast that with five first-time champions since 2006, including Stanford, which earned a three-peat this year.
No team in women's lacrosse has a bigger dynasty than Maryland. The Terrapins found themselves ushered off center stage in favor of two teams jockeying to become the next first-time champ.
"They're such a historical team," Walker-Weinstein said. "Cathy (Reese) is a mentor and one of the heroes in my life. It's a big deal, and I think I'm just proud of the girls for working so hard throughout the year. I think we were prepared for (Maryland). It was going to take everything we had."
See you, Sunday.
This year might produce a first-time champion, but it's not exactly going to be a handout. A team in a national championship game is always deserving of that trophy, and James Madison comes in with that certain swagger on paper earned by winning often.
The Dukes' only loss was in March when they dropped a 15-12 decision on the road to Maryland. JMU beat North Carolina twice, including on Friday, and beat Towson twice in two weeks. In the NCAA Tournament, the Dukes handled Virginia and No. 6 Florida at home to advance to the Final Four.
Five players have 50 points or more, including Kristen Gaudian, who has 93 points and 77 goals. Gaudian is downright lethal, having put 91% of her shots on goal and putting 65% of her shots past goalkeepers. Behind her, Elena Romesburg has 63 goals, while Hanna Haven and Haley Warden both have 40 goals or more.
In net, Molly Dougherty posted 10 saves in net against Towson in the CAA Championship, then stoned 12 shots against Virginia, eight against Florida and 12 against North Carolina.
"They have an amazing team and are so well coached," Walker-Weinstein said. "Their zone is tough. Their goalie was lights out (on Friday). They've had an incredible year and they're obviously hungry. They're in a similar place where we were last year so we will have our hands full."
JMU's defense will also shift the Eagles back into attacking a zone after Maryland presented a man-to-man set. BC last saw a zone against the Seawolves in the game in Newton.
"Stony Brook's zone was excellent," Walker-Weinstein said. "It's really tough to break into and it's a different mentality going against a zone versus a (man-to-man). Last year, we faced a similar situation where we were playing against zone on the Friday night (against Navy) and then had to switch of with one day to go prepare against the man (against Maryland). Luckily we've seen really good zones. We've seen North Carolina's zone. We've seen Stony Brook's zone. Hopefully we can reach back and pull some experience from those games."
Long Island's College Team
Boston College has a natural home base in New York City and Long Island. There's a huge alumni presence, and the Eagle brand always seems to cycle back into the Big Apple and its greater metropolitan area (see also: Pinstripe Bowl). Combined with BC's New York-based roster makeup, this year's team is enjoying a similar home field advantage to the one it enjoyed last year at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
"It's definitely cool coming home to Long Island, but I think to win that game anywhere is really cool in front of anyone," goalkeeper Lauren Daly said. "But it is cool to come home; I only live 20 minutes away."
Playing for a national championship is always special and an honor, but the Eagle fan support is second-to-none in its second home base.
Meteorology 101
Saturday is going to see temperatures climb into the 80s on Long Island, with partly cloudy skies and an abundance of sunshine. It might seem hot, especially on a turf field, but it would constitute a really beautiful day for anyone going out to see someone crowned national champion.
The game is not on Saturday.
Sunday's weather? Rain. 60 degrees. Some wind. Or as someone who is crowned national champion would call it: "a really beautiful day."
Pregame Zen/Prediction Time
Show class, have pride and display character. If you do, winning takes care of itself. -Bear Bryant
It would be great to say that a key to victory is as clear-cut as Person X doing Y or Person 1 doing things 2, 3 and 4, but a one-game playoff is never that transparent. There are too many variables and wild cards that make it so hard to predict.
But if Boston College's team can play together as one, the entire Eagle family will rejoice. The Eagles haven't yet celebrated a national championship on behalf of the Atlantic Coast Conference. All of that can change on Sunday afternoon as the entire family, from Chestnut Hill to Long Island points well beyond all pull together in support of the warriors who take the field to represent it.
Boston College and James Madison will start the national championship game at 12 p.m. at Stony Brook's Kenneth P. Lavalle Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPNU and can also be seen on mobile devices via the WatchESPN app.
Players Mentioned
A
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/ LacrosseWelles Crowther- The Man in the Red Bandanna
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