Photo by: Chris Remick
Blowout Win Paves Road Back To ACC Semifinals
April 25, 2024 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
BC's win over Duke turned the page as soon as the game's final buzzer sounded.
The celebration surrounding Boston College's Wednesday night win over Duke felt muted compared to the overtime victory over top-ranked Syracuse at the end of the regular season. The bench still mobbed its defensive backline and goalies Shea Dolce and Maddy Manahan with smiles and hugs, but the team's attitude blended a businesslike appearance into the normal cheer associated with a win.
It might've been the 48-hour turnaround to their semifinal matchup against Notre Dame, but the Eagles knew they needed to strike the delicate chord between enjoying the moment and preparing for their next stage. The two sleeps separating them from a rematch against the second-seeded Fighting Irish remained static regardless of the opponent, and head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein drew on BC's previous experience to reinforce the road ahead.
"It doesn't start [on Thursday]," said Walker-Weinstein. "It needs to start three minutes after the game by fueling [and] resting. The coaches will prepare all night, and the girls will get to work in the morning. It's a healthy balance of fueling, eating, sleeping, hydrating, and resting their bodies. We have a really supportive administrative group here that's giving the girls everything they need to be ready physically, and these girls are so good about their preparation. It's going to be a grind, but it's a full-blown workday [before Friday's match]."
The genuine understanding of how to prepare for the next round of a playoff differentiates BC from other programs,but the Eagles' 14-goal blowout added benefits that weren't experienced by the other three teams. The 8 p.m. start time against Duke was the last of a four-game slate for the Charlotte-based quarterfinal round, but its status as the biggest margin of victory meant the game finished quicker than the other three decisions.
A seven-goal outburst in the second quarter moved the clock into running time after Duke's plucky upset bid began by keeping the score within two goals in the first, and an 8-2 run after halftime included a fourth quarter shutout that totally shut down the Blue Devils' overall attack. The final numbers added to the disparity after the Eagles amassed 28 shots on goal against Duke's 13 total attempts, and BC was able to use 20 draw control wins to maintain momentum and tilt the field decidedly against the lower-seeded team.
Caroline DeBellis still managed a hat trick for Duke, but the attack was decidedly one-sided against the three-plus goal nights by Rachel Clark, Kayla Martello and Belle Smith. Mckenna Davis and Cassidy Weeks later added two goals of their own, and Emma LoPinto's additional hat trick included three assists to pace the team lead for points opposite the three helpers added by Davis.
"I see my best friends, who I want to pass the ball to, and I think that's something so special," said Davis about the attack's overall night. "We really harp on our relationships, and I find that I'm friends with every single person on this team and within my unit. I think that's something that's really special [because] I trust anyone and everyone with the ball. I trust my feel that I know that they're going to put the ball in the back of the net."
That cohesion isn't new to BC, but it delivered its own unique brand in Wednesday's win because it went through every phase of the team's overall performance. What finished at the Duke crease or on the scoreboard began on the defensive end with stops against the Blue Devils' attackers and midfielders and continued through a ride that decimated the center area of the field.
Draw controls aside, Duke committed 28 fouls against a team that finished 14-for-14 on clears, but Shea Dolce only needed five saves against an attack that couldn't find the net for more than four even-strength goals. A yellow card against Emma LoPinto sprung two quick shot attempts by Duke's attack around 11 minutes remaining in the fourth, but after Katie DeSimone's shot went wide with 9:16 left, Duke failed to attempt a single attempt, let alone anything on BC's cage.
"Trust is the baseline for any good defense," said Walker-Weinstein. "I think our girls have a deep level of trust between themselves on the field, but it's built off the field. Over time, it's sort of compounded, minute-by-minute, game-by-game, and for some of these players, it's year-over-year. That leads to the rest of the team trusting itself because the defense is generally our stabilizer. When the defense is playing with that level of trust, the team is in good shape."
The first foothold was critical for BC after it finished third in the ACC standings for the first time in seven years, but advancing through the first foothold in the Charlotte-based tournament now enables the Eagles to face Notre Dame for the fifth time over the last two years. A rematch of last year's 9-4 win by BC in the conference semifinals, the Eagles finished this season with a one-goal difference separating them from the second-place finish occupied by the Fighting Irish.
It was Notre Dame's first win over BC since an 11-7 loss to the then-No. 2 team in the nation in what ultimately became the second-to-last game of the ill-fated 2020 season, but it pushed the Irish into territory normally occupied by either the Eagles or a counterpart from Tobacco Road. A budding rivalry from last year's regular season and conference postseason ended with a 14-goal blowout by BC in the national tournament, but the echoes of the six-game winning streak to start the teams' shared and mutual history rang straight out of the early 2000s when Notre Dame scored four goals in the final 7:44 to rally from a one-goal deficit in a 15-14 win in mid-March.
"I think about other games where we didn't keep our foot on the gas," said senior Hunter Roman, "and you can't let up in those small moments. Looking ahead, we've been preparing for bigger games, and I think carrying [momentum] into those bigger games with that foot on the gas pedal keeps us rolling."
"There are no moments that don't matter," added Davis. "The seconds at the end of a game, the possessions at the end of the game, all those overtimes - they add up to practice and preparation. We really try to stay focused in those moments because we're going to need them if we want to win it all."
Third-seeded BC and second-seeded Notre Dame play in the second matchup of Friday night's semifinal festivities with an expected start time around 8 p.m. from the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network with streaming available via ESPN's family of Internet and mobile device apps.
It might've been the 48-hour turnaround to their semifinal matchup against Notre Dame, but the Eagles knew they needed to strike the delicate chord between enjoying the moment and preparing for their next stage. The two sleeps separating them from a rematch against the second-seeded Fighting Irish remained static regardless of the opponent, and head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein drew on BC's previous experience to reinforce the road ahead.
"It doesn't start [on Thursday]," said Walker-Weinstein. "It needs to start three minutes after the game by fueling [and] resting. The coaches will prepare all night, and the girls will get to work in the morning. It's a healthy balance of fueling, eating, sleeping, hydrating, and resting their bodies. We have a really supportive administrative group here that's giving the girls everything they need to be ready physically, and these girls are so good about their preparation. It's going to be a grind, but it's a full-blown workday [before Friday's match]."
The genuine understanding of how to prepare for the next round of a playoff differentiates BC from other programs,but the Eagles' 14-goal blowout added benefits that weren't experienced by the other three teams. The 8 p.m. start time against Duke was the last of a four-game slate for the Charlotte-based quarterfinal round, but its status as the biggest margin of victory meant the game finished quicker than the other three decisions.
A seven-goal outburst in the second quarter moved the clock into running time after Duke's plucky upset bid began by keeping the score within two goals in the first, and an 8-2 run after halftime included a fourth quarter shutout that totally shut down the Blue Devils' overall attack. The final numbers added to the disparity after the Eagles amassed 28 shots on goal against Duke's 13 total attempts, and BC was able to use 20 draw control wins to maintain momentum and tilt the field decidedly against the lower-seeded team.
Caroline DeBellis still managed a hat trick for Duke, but the attack was decidedly one-sided against the three-plus goal nights by Rachel Clark, Kayla Martello and Belle Smith. Mckenna Davis and Cassidy Weeks later added two goals of their own, and Emma LoPinto's additional hat trick included three assists to pace the team lead for points opposite the three helpers added by Davis.
"I see my best friends, who I want to pass the ball to, and I think that's something so special," said Davis about the attack's overall night. "We really harp on our relationships, and I find that I'm friends with every single person on this team and within my unit. I think that's something that's really special [because] I trust anyone and everyone with the ball. I trust my feel that I know that they're going to put the ball in the back of the net."
That cohesion isn't new to BC, but it delivered its own unique brand in Wednesday's win because it went through every phase of the team's overall performance. What finished at the Duke crease or on the scoreboard began on the defensive end with stops against the Blue Devils' attackers and midfielders and continued through a ride that decimated the center area of the field.
Draw controls aside, Duke committed 28 fouls against a team that finished 14-for-14 on clears, but Shea Dolce only needed five saves against an attack that couldn't find the net for more than four even-strength goals. A yellow card against Emma LoPinto sprung two quick shot attempts by Duke's attack around 11 minutes remaining in the fourth, but after Katie DeSimone's shot went wide with 9:16 left, Duke failed to attempt a single attempt, let alone anything on BC's cage.
"Trust is the baseline for any good defense," said Walker-Weinstein. "I think our girls have a deep level of trust between themselves on the field, but it's built off the field. Over time, it's sort of compounded, minute-by-minute, game-by-game, and for some of these players, it's year-over-year. That leads to the rest of the team trusting itself because the defense is generally our stabilizer. When the defense is playing with that level of trust, the team is in good shape."
The first foothold was critical for BC after it finished third in the ACC standings for the first time in seven years, but advancing through the first foothold in the Charlotte-based tournament now enables the Eagles to face Notre Dame for the fifth time over the last two years. A rematch of last year's 9-4 win by BC in the conference semifinals, the Eagles finished this season with a one-goal difference separating them from the second-place finish occupied by the Fighting Irish.
It was Notre Dame's first win over BC since an 11-7 loss to the then-No. 2 team in the nation in what ultimately became the second-to-last game of the ill-fated 2020 season, but it pushed the Irish into territory normally occupied by either the Eagles or a counterpart from Tobacco Road. A budding rivalry from last year's regular season and conference postseason ended with a 14-goal blowout by BC in the national tournament, but the echoes of the six-game winning streak to start the teams' shared and mutual history rang straight out of the early 2000s when Notre Dame scored four goals in the final 7:44 to rally from a one-goal deficit in a 15-14 win in mid-March.
"I think about other games where we didn't keep our foot on the gas," said senior Hunter Roman, "and you can't let up in those small moments. Looking ahead, we've been preparing for bigger games, and I think carrying [momentum] into those bigger games with that foot on the gas pedal keeps us rolling."
"There are no moments that don't matter," added Davis. "The seconds at the end of a game, the possessions at the end of the game, all those overtimes - they add up to practice and preparation. We really try to stay focused in those moments because we're going to need them if we want to win it all."
Third-seeded BC and second-seeded Notre Dame play in the second matchup of Friday night's semifinal festivities with an expected start time around 8 p.m. from the American Legion Memorial Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game can be seen on national television via the ACC Network with streaming available via ESPN's family of Internet and mobile device apps.
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