For Lacrosse, #ForWelles Means Something Altogether Different

Idyllic conditions enveloped Alumni Stadium for Saturday's Atlantic Coast Conference lacrosse matchup between No. 2 Boston College and No. 8 Notre Dame. The mid-March day felt almost like springtime with bright sunshine splashing the aluminum bleachers with reasonable temperatures, and fans clad in sweatshirts, hats and sunglasses all treated themselves to one of college sports' most intense rivalries as St. Patrick's Day loomed on the horizon.

Nearly everyone wore green in anticipation of the Sunday holiday, but the rivalry game built around the purity of two of Division I's Catholic institutions was painted in a mre-recognizable red-and-white motif adorning the Boston College uniforms. The game was the Eagles' Alumni Day, but the defending conference champions scheduled the matchup around a larger purpose by donning their red bandanna uniforms in memory of Welles Remy Crowther, the 1999 BC graduate who lost his life while saving more than a dozen strangers during the horrific events of September 11, 2001.

"It's an honor to have the opportunity to play on behalf of Welles," said head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. "It's just a great thing for our program because it keeps us grounded, and you remember what's important. I just love being a part of the tradition, and it's an honor."

The events on 9/11 forever ingrained tragedy and terror into the American psyche after three hijacked planes attacked institutions and installations at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. and the World Trade Center in New York City. A fourth hijacked plane crashed in Pennsylvania without reaching its target after passengers revolted against their terrorist captors, but the symbols of American freedom and strength were challenged to their core after nearly 3,000 people died.

It's still hard to fathom the destruction, but time between the events produced stories of heroism and bravery as strangers sacrificed and worked to save one another. The notion of service about self was easily identifiable, and none came greater than Crowther, a former Boston College athlete who was in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when United Airlines Flight 175 crashed into its hulking, 110-floor frame.

He'd been an equities trader at work before everything unfolded, but standing on the 78th floor as everything unfolded around him unlocked the hero who still held dreams of becoming a firefighter with the FDNY. In the hour of need, he was last seen helping members of New York City's fire department shortly before the building collapsed before 10 a.m..

It wasn't immediately known that Welles was the man who helped as many as 18 people escape the evil unfolding around them, but his ubiquitous red bandanna ultimately offered a totem to rally the story. It easily identified him, and as time continued forward, it transformed into the symbol for his alma mater and those who sought to honor his memory.

At Boston College in particular, Crowther remains a staple woven into the university fabric, but the presence of red bandanna uniforms extends beyond 2014's football win over Southern California or basketball's six-point win over St. John's in New York City. It's everywhere, and for the lacrosse team, playing for Welles is something that no other team can fully understand.

"The past four years I've been here, it never gets old," said graduate student Ryan Smith. "I really do think that it's super special, and for lacrosse, Welles played lacrosse, and I think that speaks so much to what we build in our culture. It's really special for us."

BC stopped sponsoring men's lacrosse as a Division I sport in 2002, but the women's team remains an enduring link to Welles' spirit. The sports look different from one another, but the absence of the men's team allows one of the Eagles' most successful teams to connect with the story at a more visceral level.

For Smith, it went even deeper because she traded her usual No. 18 uniform for the awarded No. 19 jersey that she wore on Saturday afternoon. Welles wore No. 19 when he played for the Eagles, and its informal retirement within the lacrosse team transformed the player who wore it for the Red Bandanna Game into a piece of a lineage drawn directly to Crowther. Her father, Scott, was also a 1995 graduate of the old men's lacrosse program, a fact that puts her story closer to Welles than arguably anyone at Boston College.

"This happens every year and when it's announced, every single person on the team goes through your head," Smith said. "We have a whole team of people who really emulate what Welles stood for, so I was truly honored. But I also knew that anyone could have been wearing it and it still would have been amazing."

Smith didn't score for the Eagles on Saturday, but her performance helped BC keep step with a feisty Notre Dame squad that previously defeated Northwestern and North Carolina. Her four draw controls ranked second on the team with Cassidy Weeks, and she'd scored in the three previous games as a midfielder who registered eight draw controls against Boston University. A grind-it-out, gritty athlete, she earned a spot in the starting lineup last year before scoring nine goals, and her 90 draw controls helped BC control pace for much of the season that produced its first conference championship before returning for a fifth year after starting her career during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We're used to big games," Smith said, "and we have a lot of experience, but at the same time, it's different when you're on the home field. You have all your home fans here, and it puts another little pressure on the game because you don't want to let them down when you're home. So this was definitely a tough one, but we're going to learn from it."

For Lacrosse, #ForWelles Means Something Altogether Different

Players Mentioned

Ryan Smith

Cassidy Weeks

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