Photo by: John Quackenbos
W2WF: NCAA Quarterfinals vs. Princeton
May 17, 2019 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
Senior Day was last month, but we all kind of knew the last home game would come later.
The last home game in college sports always carries a special kind of nostalgia for the season's conclusion. It's the last time players and coaches wake up in their own beds for their own game day routines, and it's the final stand for players who won't ever again suit up in a team's colors. It's the last ride, which itself can provoke a range of deep-rooted emotions.
The Boston College lacrosse team celebrated Senior Day in its regular season finale against Louisville, but the Eagles always knew that it wouldn't be the last home game. There was the ACC Championship, but the undefeated regular season always indicated that there were more postseason games to be had if they could simply keep winning.
On Saturday, BC will finally draw that final home game in the last possible date when it hosts the NCAA Quarterfinals against Princeton.
"I want (the team) to enjoy the ride, work hard and be in the moment," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "We're pushing (the athletes) harder at the end of the season than ever. This is a talented group, but we've got to put the work in - and we have to have fun with it."
This particular class will always be special. It helped last year's seniors break the record for all-time winningest graduating class, then re-broke it for itself this year. Individual and team awards amassed in the team's trophy case, from Sam Apuzzo's Tewaaraton Award last year to Kenzie Kent's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award in 2017.
Apuzzo earned the ACC Attacker of the Year and is a shoo-in for the All-America Team. Dempsey Arsenault earned the ACC Midfielder of the Year this year, and the trio were part of a handful of Tewaaraton Nominees in 2019. Both are Tewaaraton Award finalists after leading the team to its second straight ACC regular season championship at the tip of the iceberg of accolades.
The departing players simply dominated at home. They went undefeated last season and only absorbed an ACC Championship final loss this year, a run that pushed them to 25-1 dating back to last season and 38-5 over the past four years. It's provided them an opportunity to play for a third consecutive Final Four. Even though postseason team trophies eluded the Eagles, they await the Tigers' arrival focusing on what's at hand, without worrying about the past.
"It's definitely something that's there but not something we harp on too much," Apuzzo said. "There's always that thought. We just (wanted to) focus on this season and what we have to do this year."
The team's Senior Day was last month, but the last home game is on Saturday. It's all part of a standard set by a class forever immortalized for how it helped make Boston College a national lacrosse powerhouse.
Here's what to watch for in Saturday's matchup against the reigning Ivy League champions:
*****
Weekly Storylines
You ain't so bad. -Rocky Balboa
Boston College enters this game as the No. 2 national seed in the tournament, a right it earned by nearly becoming a wire-to-wire No. 1 team during the season. The Eagles beat every single one of their opponents this season, including the regular season matchup against North Carolina, and still haven't lost at Newton Campus since April 8, 2017 against Duke.
That can hypothetically create an intimidation factor, but it's unlikely Princeton will cower when it takes the field on Saturday.
"I just think we need to put together a strong 60 minutes," Dempsey Arsenault said. "Princeton is strong, athletic and fast. We're just getting ready for them."
Princeton enters this game on an 11-game winning streak that pushed the team to 16-3 on the season. It defeated both Penn State and Stony Brook during the regular season, then rebounded from a conference-opening loss against Brown to beat non-conference opponent Loyola in between six straight Ivy League wins to clinch the regular season crown.
Wins over Cornell and Penn clinched the Ivy League Tournament, and the success earned the Tigers a host bid to the NCAA Tournament.The selection committee slotted them as the No. 7 seed, however, which meant Princeton didn't receive a First Round bye. It didn't matter; it dispatched Wagner in the first round before winning a rematch with Loyola to advance to BC.
This is Princeton's seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and 20th trip since 1998. The Tigers hold three national championships, including two consecutive banners hung during that stretch. They haven't, however,' advanced to a Final Four since 2004 and BC bumped them out last season after they defeated Syracuse in the first round.
Bottom line: this team is getting hungrier and hungrier, but it also isn't going to be intimidated by the atmosphere or the team on the other side of the field.
Eyeball-to-Eyeball
The bulk of lacrosse teams play zone defense in their seven-on-seven sets. That allows defenders to track whatever comes into an assigned area. It relies on heavy communication, but it's a baseline given how the ball moves around both the area and the fan against the shot clock. Princeton, however, is more unorthodox because they play man-to-man, which means the defenders track players instead of areas.
A man-to-man defense forces players to run harder and attack at the individual level. There is no letup, and it can create chaos in an attacking offense. Everyone is always on the move, and it forces attackers and midfielders to expend energy every second that they're trying to score.
"We want to make sure that we're finding ways to improve even though it's late in the season," Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "I think the girls are doing a good job of that. Princeton is an amazing team, and they're deep and well-rounded. We're working more on every part of our game."
A man-to-man defense can allow for an attack to open up, though, if the right athletes find the right holes. BC scored 16 goals in last year's win over the Tigers with seven assists in the game. Dempsey Arsenault and Sam Apuzzo had five of those assists, finding routine passing lanes to Tess Chandler and Kaileen Hart, both of whom buried five goals apiece. So while the personnel for both teams change, there's a key there that if someone can develop a physical mismatch, teammates will find each other for shots.
"(They) Go Hard No Matter What"
Princeton's defense is relentless, but its attack is completely dynamic. Kyla Sears, Tess D'Orsi and Elizabeth George all posted 50-goal seasons, with the latter two hitting the 60-goal mark. With those three players, the Tigers enter Saturday as the only team in the country with three players with 54 goals scored and one of two teams with two 60-goal scorers.
That somehow managed to make Sears more lethal after a 64-goal season last season since her point totals jumped over 90.
"We just have to be prepared for them," Sam Apuzzo said. "They're super athletic and go hard no matter what. You can't be shocked when they come out (with that energy)."
Over 62% of Princeton's 278 goals this year came in the first half. The Tigers posted at least 14 goals in 12 of its 19 games this year and rattled off over 300 shots in the first half of those games. So while BC is usually able to get out to fast starts this year, Princeton is the one team that might be capable of matching that start stride-for-stride.
It becomes imperative, then, for the Eagles to control the areas where they usually dominate, including the draw circle. BC enters this game with a 62.9% success rate on draw controls compared to Princeton's 52.3%. Draw controls help control the flow of the game and dictate pace. Owning that area goes a long way to settling down what could be a goals bonanza.
*****
Meteorology 101
This is apparently the first weekend since St. Patrick's Day where it's not supposed to rain in New England. I wish I was kidding.
After experiencing Seattle-type weather with nothing but cold and rain, spring is finally here - in mid-May. Temperatures on Saturday will push into the 70s, and clouds will break through with sunny skies. It's part of a gradual move to 80 degrees by Monday.
That should create a tremendous atmosphere at Newton Campus on Saturday afternoon. After another rainy day on Friday, it's also something we all can finally appreciate.
*****
Scoreboard Watching
The NCAA Tournament was one team away from advancing according to chalk after the top seven seeds advanced to the Quarterfinals. Michigan was the only national seed to falter, losing to Denver in overtime in the Second Round. The Pioneers' reward is a cross-country trip to Maryland to play the overall No. 1 seed.
That was the only bracket without an ACC team in it, so there was no way the league could have representation in every quarterfinal. Four other teams, though, advanced to guarantee the conference up to three Final Four spots with one already secured.
The winner of the BC-Princeton game will face the guaranteed ACC representative after No. 6 Virginia defeated Navy at home. They play at No. 3 North Carolina after the Tar Heels handled Florida at home.
Syracuse is the other ACC representative to advance, and the No. 5 Orange will host Northwestern in Western New York. The winner of that game gets either Maryland or Denver in the national semifinal.
The three ACC games will be played virtually concurrently on Saturday, with UNC-Virginia starting the day at noon. BC-Princeton will start at 1 p.m. before Syracuse-Northwestern kicks off at 2 p.m. The Maryland game is the nightcap, under the lights at 7 p.m.
Winners advance to next week's Final Four at Johns Hopkins University.
*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction Time
Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. -Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
I interviewed Acacia Walker-Weinstein on the first day of practice in the Alumni Stadium bubble. She talked about going day-by-day and that this year's team hadn't accomplished anything. Everyone could enjoy talking about past success, but every year represented a new team with a new identity. She reiterated that on Thursday when she met with the media.
"We've had a goal of winning a national championship since I started here," she said. "It's not what's true (today), though. The truth is that we have a new team, (and) we had a practice to get better for Princeton. That's the only thing we're thinking about."
Everyone knows that BC lacrosse is a great team filled with elite players. This team rewrote, both individually and collectively, what that Eagles logo stood for. It established something of a glow to the program's greatness, and it created an aura to every game it plays in.
It's unfortunate that aura and glow doesn't win championships. Consistency does. BC has been remarkably consistent this year, but it needs to be consistently consistent one more time. Do that, and a third straight trip to the Final Four will follow.
Â
The Boston College lacrosse team celebrated Senior Day in its regular season finale against Louisville, but the Eagles always knew that it wouldn't be the last home game. There was the ACC Championship, but the undefeated regular season always indicated that there were more postseason games to be had if they could simply keep winning.
On Saturday, BC will finally draw that final home game in the last possible date when it hosts the NCAA Quarterfinals against Princeton.
"I want (the team) to enjoy the ride, work hard and be in the moment," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "We're pushing (the athletes) harder at the end of the season than ever. This is a talented group, but we've got to put the work in - and we have to have fun with it."
This particular class will always be special. It helped last year's seniors break the record for all-time winningest graduating class, then re-broke it for itself this year. Individual and team awards amassed in the team's trophy case, from Sam Apuzzo's Tewaaraton Award last year to Kenzie Kent's NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Award in 2017.
Apuzzo earned the ACC Attacker of the Year and is a shoo-in for the All-America Team. Dempsey Arsenault earned the ACC Midfielder of the Year this year, and the trio were part of a handful of Tewaaraton Nominees in 2019. Both are Tewaaraton Award finalists after leading the team to its second straight ACC regular season championship at the tip of the iceberg of accolades.
The departing players simply dominated at home. They went undefeated last season and only absorbed an ACC Championship final loss this year, a run that pushed them to 25-1 dating back to last season and 38-5 over the past four years. It's provided them an opportunity to play for a third consecutive Final Four. Even though postseason team trophies eluded the Eagles, they await the Tigers' arrival focusing on what's at hand, without worrying about the past.
"It's definitely something that's there but not something we harp on too much," Apuzzo said. "There's always that thought. We just (wanted to) focus on this season and what we have to do this year."
The team's Senior Day was last month, but the last home game is on Saturday. It's all part of a standard set by a class forever immortalized for how it helped make Boston College a national lacrosse powerhouse.
Here's what to watch for in Saturday's matchup against the reigning Ivy League champions:
*****
Weekly Storylines
You ain't so bad. -Rocky Balboa
Boston College enters this game as the No. 2 national seed in the tournament, a right it earned by nearly becoming a wire-to-wire No. 1 team during the season. The Eagles beat every single one of their opponents this season, including the regular season matchup against North Carolina, and still haven't lost at Newton Campus since April 8, 2017 against Duke.
That can hypothetically create an intimidation factor, but it's unlikely Princeton will cower when it takes the field on Saturday.
"I just think we need to put together a strong 60 minutes," Dempsey Arsenault said. "Princeton is strong, athletic and fast. We're just getting ready for them."
Princeton enters this game on an 11-game winning streak that pushed the team to 16-3 on the season. It defeated both Penn State and Stony Brook during the regular season, then rebounded from a conference-opening loss against Brown to beat non-conference opponent Loyola in between six straight Ivy League wins to clinch the regular season crown.
Wins over Cornell and Penn clinched the Ivy League Tournament, and the success earned the Tigers a host bid to the NCAA Tournament.The selection committee slotted them as the No. 7 seed, however, which meant Princeton didn't receive a First Round bye. It didn't matter; it dispatched Wagner in the first round before winning a rematch with Loyola to advance to BC.
This is Princeton's seventh consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament and 20th trip since 1998. The Tigers hold three national championships, including two consecutive banners hung during that stretch. They haven't, however,' advanced to a Final Four since 2004 and BC bumped them out last season after they defeated Syracuse in the first round.
Bottom line: this team is getting hungrier and hungrier, but it also isn't going to be intimidated by the atmosphere or the team on the other side of the field.
Eyeball-to-Eyeball
The bulk of lacrosse teams play zone defense in their seven-on-seven sets. That allows defenders to track whatever comes into an assigned area. It relies on heavy communication, but it's a baseline given how the ball moves around both the area and the fan against the shot clock. Princeton, however, is more unorthodox because they play man-to-man, which means the defenders track players instead of areas.
A man-to-man defense forces players to run harder and attack at the individual level. There is no letup, and it can create chaos in an attacking offense. Everyone is always on the move, and it forces attackers and midfielders to expend energy every second that they're trying to score.
"We want to make sure that we're finding ways to improve even though it's late in the season," Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "I think the girls are doing a good job of that. Princeton is an amazing team, and they're deep and well-rounded. We're working more on every part of our game."
A man-to-man defense can allow for an attack to open up, though, if the right athletes find the right holes. BC scored 16 goals in last year's win over the Tigers with seven assists in the game. Dempsey Arsenault and Sam Apuzzo had five of those assists, finding routine passing lanes to Tess Chandler and Kaileen Hart, both of whom buried five goals apiece. So while the personnel for both teams change, there's a key there that if someone can develop a physical mismatch, teammates will find each other for shots.
"(They) Go Hard No Matter What"
Princeton's defense is relentless, but its attack is completely dynamic. Kyla Sears, Tess D'Orsi and Elizabeth George all posted 50-goal seasons, with the latter two hitting the 60-goal mark. With those three players, the Tigers enter Saturday as the only team in the country with three players with 54 goals scored and one of two teams with two 60-goal scorers.
That somehow managed to make Sears more lethal after a 64-goal season last season since her point totals jumped over 90.
"We just have to be prepared for them," Sam Apuzzo said. "They're super athletic and go hard no matter what. You can't be shocked when they come out (with that energy)."
Over 62% of Princeton's 278 goals this year came in the first half. The Tigers posted at least 14 goals in 12 of its 19 games this year and rattled off over 300 shots in the first half of those games. So while BC is usually able to get out to fast starts this year, Princeton is the one team that might be capable of matching that start stride-for-stride.
It becomes imperative, then, for the Eagles to control the areas where they usually dominate, including the draw circle. BC enters this game with a 62.9% success rate on draw controls compared to Princeton's 52.3%. Draw controls help control the flow of the game and dictate pace. Owning that area goes a long way to settling down what could be a goals bonanza.
*****
Meteorology 101
This is apparently the first weekend since St. Patrick's Day where it's not supposed to rain in New England. I wish I was kidding.
After experiencing Seattle-type weather with nothing but cold and rain, spring is finally here - in mid-May. Temperatures on Saturday will push into the 70s, and clouds will break through with sunny skies. It's part of a gradual move to 80 degrees by Monday.
That should create a tremendous atmosphere at Newton Campus on Saturday afternoon. After another rainy day on Friday, it's also something we all can finally appreciate.
*****
Scoreboard Watching
The NCAA Tournament was one team away from advancing according to chalk after the top seven seeds advanced to the Quarterfinals. Michigan was the only national seed to falter, losing to Denver in overtime in the Second Round. The Pioneers' reward is a cross-country trip to Maryland to play the overall No. 1 seed.
That was the only bracket without an ACC team in it, so there was no way the league could have representation in every quarterfinal. Four other teams, though, advanced to guarantee the conference up to three Final Four spots with one already secured.
The winner of the BC-Princeton game will face the guaranteed ACC representative after No. 6 Virginia defeated Navy at home. They play at No. 3 North Carolina after the Tar Heels handled Florida at home.
Syracuse is the other ACC representative to advance, and the No. 5 Orange will host Northwestern in Western New York. The winner of that game gets either Maryland or Denver in the national semifinal.
The three ACC games will be played virtually concurrently on Saturday, with UNC-Virginia starting the day at noon. BC-Princeton will start at 1 p.m. before Syracuse-Northwestern kicks off at 2 p.m. The Maryland game is the nightcap, under the lights at 7 p.m.
Winners advance to next week's Final Four at Johns Hopkins University.
*****
Pregame Quote and Prediction Time
Success isn't always about greatness. It's about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. -Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson
I interviewed Acacia Walker-Weinstein on the first day of practice in the Alumni Stadium bubble. She talked about going day-by-day and that this year's team hadn't accomplished anything. Everyone could enjoy talking about past success, but every year represented a new team with a new identity. She reiterated that on Thursday when she met with the media.
"We've had a goal of winning a national championship since I started here," she said. "It's not what's true (today), though. The truth is that we have a new team, (and) we had a practice to get better for Princeton. That's the only thing we're thinking about."
Everyone knows that BC lacrosse is a great team filled with elite players. This team rewrote, both individually and collectively, what that Eagles logo stood for. It established something of a glow to the program's greatness, and it created an aura to every game it plays in.
It's unfortunate that aura and glow doesn't win championships. Consistency does. BC has been remarkably consistent this year, but it needs to be consistently consistent one more time. Do that, and a third straight trip to the Final Four will follow.
Â
Players Mentioned
A
/ Lacrosse
M
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
A
/ Lacrosse
A
/ LacrosseMen's Basketball: FDU Postgame Press Conference (Dec. 22, 2025)
Tuesday, December 23
Men's Basketball: UMass Postgame Press Conference (Dec. 10, 2025)
Thursday, December 11
Women's Basketball: Bryant Postgame Press Conference (Dec. 9, 2025)
Wednesday, December 10
Rowing: Christmas Music
Tuesday, December 09
