Neon Tradition Is Homeward Bound

Acacia Walker had an idea.

Her Boston College lacrosse program had never advanced to the national semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament before its 2017 quarterfinal victory over Southern California. The parity within that tournament was unprecedented, but the Eagles were in the rare situation of preparing for a game between two first-time qualifiers. Their opponent from the Naval Academy upset both seventh-ranked Penn and second-seeded North Carolina on its journey to the Final Four, and their mental toughness earned them favored status against BC, which beat the Trojans at home after the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation champion defeated third-seeded Florida in the soupy and swampy north-central part of the Sunshine State.

BC's win in Newton assured the Eagles of unofficial home games in a Final Four hosted under Gillette Stadium's fabled Super Bowl championship banners, but Walker wanted her team to find solace in a stadium featuring 68,756 seats. The Eagles, she reasoned, needed to find their families amidst a crowd numbering into tens of thousands of people, so she hatched a plan that became immediately visible when BC's team bus entered the Patriot Place complex. Among the cars tailgating in the parking lot stood Navy's blue-and-gold color scheme. Maryland had its ample fan base in its red-and-black heraldic banner. Penn State boasted one of the largest supporter groups in the country, so it wasn't hard to spot the blue-and-white. BC, though, stood out from the rest because the families wore neon green, a color not included in the university's official palette.

In that moment, a tradition was born, and eight years later, a crowd clad in neon green cheered BC into a return trip to where the shirts were first borne when the second-ranked Eagles defeated seventh-seeded Yale, 18-11, in a national quarterfinal held on Thursday evening in the program's Newton Soccer & Lacrosse Field stadium.

"This is wild," noted the now-named Walker-Weinstein. "The incredible groups of women that have come in and maintained the legacy are amazing. My family has changed. The BC lacrosse family has changed. For the group to continue to do what it does speaks to the leadership that comes [annually]. The fellowship, getting people on board [so when] they get here, this is the standard. BC lacrosse has grown. Boston College has supported us, and we've developed a ton of support within the city. It comes with the continued growth because it's harder and harder every year.

"That's what I'm most proud about," she explained. "This is not easy, so for the girls to figure out a way to do it every year, it speaks to their determination and culture."

BC lacrosse is a well-documented megalith within one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. Its equally-versed ability to navigate changing tides created a monster program capable of advancing to the most elite levels of its sport at a time when the transfer portal hangs like a program-killing scythe. Gaining entry to the Final Four is an annual expectation, while winning a national championship is a realistic goal. Littering late May with those neon shirts and national television appearances is the internal spoils associated with BC, but they often overlook the overall sacrifices required to achieve this greatness on an annual basis. Yale certainly felt the gravity of the moment when it launched past BC with a 6-5 lead in the first half, and the weight only intensified when the Eagles were largely held scoreless through the opening minutes of a second quarter that contrasted against the high-flying, 4-4 first period.

"I don't think that this group felt the pressure that [last year] won the championship so we have to do it," said senior Rachel Clark. "It's more that this group wanted it so bad to bookend our career, just like the seniors before us. Every single year, the players that come through the program are so hungry and want [to win] every single year. It's not even a pressure, it's more of a want and more of a hunger."

Clark scored eight goals on Thursday and achieved an unthinkable accomplishment by breaking Charlotte North's single-season goal-scoring record with one or two games remaining on the team's schedule. She pulled within five points of setting the single-season scoring record held by assistant coach Sam Apuzzo, and she became the fifth BC player to score at least eight goals in a single game. In a roundabout moment, she recorded the first eight-goal in a non-COVID year since Apuzzo scored nine against Navy, one year after she scored eight against the Midshipwomen in a regular season game.

Her hat trick in the third period alone capped a 9-0 run that shocked and awed the two-time Ivy league champion into submission during its 20-minute scoreless stretch while concurrently highlighting the culture and fluid teamwork required to play the BC way. McKenna Davis, for example, added six assists while Emma LoPinto's five goals occurred at key junctures during the game. In a simultaneous lack of surprise, matching Yale's draw controls across the second, third and fourth periods illustrated the tilted scoreboard after the Bulldogs tied the Eagles, 4-4, behind 8-of-9 draw control wins in the first.

"We see how hard [we] work at practice," said Clark. "When Shea's standing on her head, when Kaitlyn Cole is making a one-handed grab, when the defense is running out of a shot clock, we know how hard that is and how hard they're working. It just inspires us to connect the units and go and do our job."

That job is now an eighth straight Final Four appearance and a new perspective on playing within an hour's drive from campus. Next week at Gillette Stadium, the lacrosse culture surrounding New England and the Northeast has an opportunity to showcase how it remains considerably different from the Maryland-centric era embedded in previous decades. BC, the showcase program, finds itself at the center of a rapid growth period within the women's game. Little girls understand how to play lacrosse in their preschool gym classes, and sticks are appearing under Christmas trees.

In one week, that idea comes home to the place where it all began.

"We're playing in Boston," said Walker-Weinstein. "We need the city to show up. They showed up for us eight years ago at the start of our neon tradition, and it needs to become bigger and better. We have a week to get ready, and when you get into a Final Four, it's anybody's game. It's going to be about who wants it more and who prepares harder, and I'll take my group over everyone."

Players Mentioned

Rachel Clark

Kaitlyn Cole

Emma LoPinto

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