Boston College Athletics
Collision Course Set For Baltimore
May 21, 2019 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
The Eagles and Tar Heels meet for the seventh time over three seasons.
If good rivalries always need a next chapter, then both the Big Ten and the ACC won't have to look past this weekend for women's lacrosse. The two conferences will both feature rematches as part of the NCAA Division I National Championship weekend, settling internal squabbles on Friday before determining national supremacy in Sunday's final.
Boston College finds itself as one of the featured players of that fight. While Maryland and Northwestern play Hatfields and McCoys in the Big Ten, the Eagles find themselves set on a collision course with North Carolina in the seventh matchup between the two over the past three years.
"We want to play the best teams in the country," BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "We play weekends (during the season) to simulate Final Four-type conditions with quick turnarounds. We've been practicing and training for this moment all year long, but we don't want it any other way. These girls came to Boston College to compete against the best in the country, and that's why we schedule the way that we do. It all prepares you a little bit better for the Final Four weekend."
It's the grandest national stage for a matchup that's seen its share of key games in the last three years. BC and UNC play annually as part of the ACC's regular season, but they've managed to run into each other in the postseason each of the past three seasons. Each time, BC won the regular season game but lost in the postseason to the Tar Heels, a pattern that repeated this year. 2019 marked the third consecutive elimination at the hands of UNC and second straight conference championship loss. It's also the second straight time that the ACC Tournament provided BC with its first loss of the season.
But this is the first time the Eagles and Tar Heels will meet in the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, BC and UNC found themselves on the same side of the bracket, but both lost in the NCAA Quarterfinal to other ACC opponents (BC to Syracuse, UNC to Virginia) before they could play in the national semifinal.
In 2017, an unseeded BC team sat on the same side of the bracket as No. 2 UNC, but Navy's 16-14 win in the NCAA Quarterfinal eliminated the Tar Heels, preventing a similar ACC/Big Ten national semifinal as this year.
Both teams made the Final Four last year but were seeded on opposite sides of the bracket. BC did its part with a 15-13 win over No. 1 Maryland, but James Madison crashed the party on Long Island, beating North Carolina, 15-12, en route to its own national championship.
"They do the little things so well," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said of Walker-Weinstein's team. "They're just explosive and attack you for 60 minutes during the game. You have to be ready and not just against their offense. You have to be strong on the draw and on the ride. It's not super complicated why they've had so much success the last couple of years. They're just a hard-working team, and they're a big opponent for anybody."
That doesn't necessarily mean the Eagles are focused entirely on UNC quite yet. The team regrouped following the Princeton win in order to reset its own expectations. This year featured an exceptional ability to hone internally, which subsequently forces BC to analyze its own game before the team begins adapting that game to its opponent. Once strengths and improvements are established, the game plan is then adapted to an opponent.
"It's not even one game at a time (for us)," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "It's one practice. It helps keep our mind where it should be. We're not quite thinking about the Final Four and about North Carolina quite yet. It's about thinking about practice today. That's a good way to control the pressure and the narrative. There's a lot of mental preparation going into the Final Four, and this is how we've gone into preparation this year. We just want to be where our feet are, not one minute before or one minute ahead."
Facing a team creates familiarity, so there are no real secrets on the field between BC and UNC. Both teams understand each other's tendencies, with varying degrees of success through the years. The relationship between the two, though, runs deeper than just the brands and the games between each other because the lacrosse world fosters a close-knit community.
Levy became the head coach of the United States lacrosse program in 2017 and subsequently became a head coach for BC assistant coach Kayla Treanor and current Eagles Sam Apuzzo and Dempsey Arsenault, the latter of which were invited to train with the team this past year.
"They're just instinctual players," Levy said. "They play at a really high pace. They play the little things really well. They can pick up ground balls and get the right person in a double team with a takeaway check. They really recognize scoring opportunities and both (Apuzzo and Arsenault) - along with Kenzie Kent, who I haven't had in yet - just play the game well. They're not schemed out. They're pure players. They play well together."
This weekend, the national tournament takes a localized approach to its Final Four. The Big Ten and ACC have been at the forefront of college lacrosse for what feels like forever, and they've crossed paths more than once between each other. This is the first time, though, that the national semifinal features championship game rematches from the conference tournaments. For the ACC, that means its biggest rivalry plays out on the biggest stage possible.
For UNC, it's a chance to add to an already-impressive perspective. For BC, it's a chance to get the one that matters most and advance to its third consecutive national championship game. The only game better is the next one.
The NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Final Four will be played at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The BC-UNC game is the first semifinal game and begins at 5 p.m. Both games are being televised by ESPN via ESPN3, with winners advancing to the national championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Boston College finds itself as one of the featured players of that fight. While Maryland and Northwestern play Hatfields and McCoys in the Big Ten, the Eagles find themselves set on a collision course with North Carolina in the seventh matchup between the two over the past three years.
"We want to play the best teams in the country," BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "We play weekends (during the season) to simulate Final Four-type conditions with quick turnarounds. We've been practicing and training for this moment all year long, but we don't want it any other way. These girls came to Boston College to compete against the best in the country, and that's why we schedule the way that we do. It all prepares you a little bit better for the Final Four weekend."
It's the grandest national stage for a matchup that's seen its share of key games in the last three years. BC and UNC play annually as part of the ACC's regular season, but they've managed to run into each other in the postseason each of the past three seasons. Each time, BC won the regular season game but lost in the postseason to the Tar Heels, a pattern that repeated this year. 2019 marked the third consecutive elimination at the hands of UNC and second straight conference championship loss. It's also the second straight time that the ACC Tournament provided BC with its first loss of the season.
But this is the first time the Eagles and Tar Heels will meet in the NCAA Tournament. In 2014, BC and UNC found themselves on the same side of the bracket, but both lost in the NCAA Quarterfinal to other ACC opponents (BC to Syracuse, UNC to Virginia) before they could play in the national semifinal.
In 2017, an unseeded BC team sat on the same side of the bracket as No. 2 UNC, but Navy's 16-14 win in the NCAA Quarterfinal eliminated the Tar Heels, preventing a similar ACC/Big Ten national semifinal as this year.
Both teams made the Final Four last year but were seeded on opposite sides of the bracket. BC did its part with a 15-13 win over No. 1 Maryland, but James Madison crashed the party on Long Island, beating North Carolina, 15-12, en route to its own national championship.
"They do the little things so well," UNC head coach Jenny Levy said of Walker-Weinstein's team. "They're just explosive and attack you for 60 minutes during the game. You have to be ready and not just against their offense. You have to be strong on the draw and on the ride. It's not super complicated why they've had so much success the last couple of years. They're just a hard-working team, and they're a big opponent for anybody."
That doesn't necessarily mean the Eagles are focused entirely on UNC quite yet. The team regrouped following the Princeton win in order to reset its own expectations. This year featured an exceptional ability to hone internally, which subsequently forces BC to analyze its own game before the team begins adapting that game to its opponent. Once strengths and improvements are established, the game plan is then adapted to an opponent.
"It's not even one game at a time (for us)," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "It's one practice. It helps keep our mind where it should be. We're not quite thinking about the Final Four and about North Carolina quite yet. It's about thinking about practice today. That's a good way to control the pressure and the narrative. There's a lot of mental preparation going into the Final Four, and this is how we've gone into preparation this year. We just want to be where our feet are, not one minute before or one minute ahead."
Facing a team creates familiarity, so there are no real secrets on the field between BC and UNC. Both teams understand each other's tendencies, with varying degrees of success through the years. The relationship between the two, though, runs deeper than just the brands and the games between each other because the lacrosse world fosters a close-knit community.
Levy became the head coach of the United States lacrosse program in 2017 and subsequently became a head coach for BC assistant coach Kayla Treanor and current Eagles Sam Apuzzo and Dempsey Arsenault, the latter of which were invited to train with the team this past year.
"They're just instinctual players," Levy said. "They play at a really high pace. They play the little things really well. They can pick up ground balls and get the right person in a double team with a takeaway check. They really recognize scoring opportunities and both (Apuzzo and Arsenault) - along with Kenzie Kent, who I haven't had in yet - just play the game well. They're not schemed out. They're pure players. They play well together."
This weekend, the national tournament takes a localized approach to its Final Four. The Big Ten and ACC have been at the forefront of college lacrosse for what feels like forever, and they've crossed paths more than once between each other. This is the first time, though, that the national semifinal features championship game rematches from the conference tournaments. For the ACC, that means its biggest rivalry plays out on the biggest stage possible.
For UNC, it's a chance to add to an already-impressive perspective. For BC, it's a chance to get the one that matters most and advance to its third consecutive national championship game. The only game better is the next one.
The NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Final Four will be played at Homewood Field on the campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. The BC-UNC game is the first semifinal game and begins at 5 p.m. Both games are being televised by ESPN via ESPN3, with winners advancing to the national championship game on Sunday afternoon.
Players Mentioned
#24 Baseball Defeats UConn (April 15, 2026)
Wednesday, April 15
#24 Baseball Defeats Northeastern in Beanpot Championship (April 14, 2026)
Wednesday, April 15
#23 Baseball Defeats Virginia Tech (April 12, 2026)
Tuesday, April 14
#23 Baseball Defeats Virginia Tech (April 11,2026
Saturday, April 11
