Lacrosse Opens Season Against No. 2 Northwestern

Friday, February 6

Chestnut Hill, Mass.

5 p.m.

Boston College

Northwestern

Photo by: Joe Sullivan

Lacrosse Opens Season Against No. 2 Northwestern

January 21, 2026 | Lacrosse

One Love 2026 Women's Lacrosse Rule Changes Watch Live Stats Lacrosse Reference Preview - Northwestern USA Lacrosse Magazine Preview

By: Athletic Communications

* - ALL GAMES IN FISH FIELD HOUSE ARE CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Boston College lacrosse faces No. 2 Northwestern on Friday at 5 p.m. in Fish Field House to open the 2026 campaign.

ONE LOVE
Friday's game is the "One Love" game, promoting the end of relationship abuse. One Love is a national non-profit with the goal of ending relationship abuse, empowering young people with tools and resources to see the signs of healthy and unhealthy relationships and bring life-saving prevention education to communities.

The Eagles have been recognized nationally, earning a No. 3 ranking in both the IWLCA and USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason polls. BC also landed seven players on the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American list, and Inside Lacrosse is releasing its annual top 50 players rankings heading into the season as well.

A Win Would
- Give BC a 1-0 start.
- Give the Eagles a sixth straight season-opening win.
- Even the all-time series against the Northwestern at six-apiece.

Newcomers
BC brings in the trio of Marissa White (North Carolina), Bella Abbott (Syracuse), Casey Colbert (Stony Brook) and the freshman class of Lauren Herlihy, Rory Taylor, Lily Kondas, Caroline Chisholm, Jordyn Krafchick, MaryHelen McCooey, and Grace Holland.The Eagles have the fourth-ranked recruiting class with three five-star recruits and one four-star recruit.

By the Numbers
1 - Shea Baker was the only player in the nation last season to post at least 95 draw controls, 40 caused turnovers and 35 ground balls.
4 - Shea Dolce is four saves away from earning her 500th career save.
38 - Molly Driscoll increased her point total by 38 points from her freshman to sophomore season (16-54).
56 - Dolce leads all active goalies with 56 career wins.
158 - BC leads the nation with 158 wins since the 2017 season.

Series History
The Eagles are 5-6 against Northwestern, with the two foes facing each other in the postseason the previous three years in the national title game in 23-24 and last season's national semifinals. Seven of the 11 matchups have been by five goals or less, including the last four by a combined 10 goals.

Eagles Picked Second in the ACC - Three Selected to Preseason All-ACC Team
Boston College was picked second in the ACC behind North Carolina, while Shea Dolce (goalie), Shea Baker (defense) and Molly Driscoll (at-large) represented Boston College on the preseason All-ACC Team.

Dolce Named Preseason USA Lacrosse Goalie of the Year
The goalie enjoyed another stellar season in 2025, where she was named the IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year, repeated as ACC Goalkeeper of the Year and led the nation and ACC with 202 saves. Her career-high .550 save percentage paced the conference and nation. The Darien, Conn. native was the first goalkeeper since 2021 to be named a Tewaaraton finalist and the first goalkeeper in the ACC to win back-to-back Goalkeeper of the Year awards. Her save percentage was the highest in the ACC since the 2018 season, and she became of one of two goalkeepers in school history (Megan McElvogue) to post 200 saves in a single season, while it was the fourth most in a single season in program history. She heads into her senior season third all-time in school history with 496 career saves. Most recently, she was named to the U.S. Senior National Team for the 2026 World Championship in August.

The best in the game 🙌

Congratulations to @SheaDolce2 on being named the @USALMag Preseason Goalie of the Year 👊 pic.twitter.com/s7PRVo2iFv
— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) January 21, 2026

Four Eagles Named to Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-American List
First Team
Shea Dolce
Shea Baker

Second Team
Marissa White
Lydia Colasante

Eagles Land Seven on USA Lacrosse Preseason All-American List
First Team
Shea Baker
Shea Dolce

Second Team
Lydia Colasante

Honorable Mention
Devon Russell
Casey Colbert
Marissa White
Abbey Herod

Well represented 🇺🇸

Congratulations to the seven Eagles that were named a @USALMag Preseason All-American! pic.twitter.com/Hfsmn8cDwJ
— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) January 20, 2026

ILWomen Announcing Top 50 Players

3rd - Shea Dolce | Played and started in all 22 games … ACC All-Academic Team … Tewaaraton Finalist … IWLCA First-Team All-American … Inside Lacrosse First-Team All-American … USA Lacrosse Magazine First-Team All-American … ACC Goalkeeper of the Year … IWLCA Goalkeeper of the Year … ACC All-Tournament Team … NCAA All-Tournament Team … ACC Defensive Player of the Week … led the country and the ACC with a career-high .550 save percentage … also paced the ACC and nation with a personal-best 202 saves … second in the nation and league with a 7.85 goals against average … one of two goalkeepers in school history (Megan McElvogue) to post 200 saves in a single season, while it was the fourth most in a single season in program history … posted the fifth-high save percentage in single season in program history … posted 12 games with at least 10 stops, highlighted by a career-high 16 saves with a .842 save percentage against Dartmouth (¾) … netted a personal-best .867 save percentage with 13 saves at Syracuse (4/17) … had two stretches of 10-plus saves, boasting an impressive .691 save percentage with 47 saves from 3/1-3/12 … her second stretch she turned in 51 saves and a .614 save percentage from 4/17-4/27 …. set an ACC Tournament record with 38 saves … was the first goalkeeper since 2021 to be named a Tewaaraton finalist and the first goalkeeper in the ACC to win back-to-back Goalkeeper of the Year awards … highest save percentage in the ACC since the 2018 season … heads into her senior season third all-time in school history with 496 career saves ... won gold with the Team USA Senior National Team at the PALA pre-qualifier and the World Games with the U.S. Sixes Team ... was named to the All-World Team after boasting a stellar .594 save percentage and 38 saves.

6th - Shea Baker | Played in all 22 games... CSC Academic All-District ... All-ACC Academic Team … IWLCA Academic Honor Roll … ACC All-Tournament Team … IWLCA First-Team All-American … ILWomen.com First-Team All-American … USA Lacrosse Magazine First-Team All-American … ACC Defensive Player of the Year … All-ACC First Team … Tewaaraton Top 25 Watch List … ACC Defensive Player of the Week … led the team with a career-high 43 caused turnovers, 37 ground balls 99 draw controls … tied for ninth all-time in a single season in draw controls … only player in the country with at least 40 caused turnovers, 35 ground balls and 95 draw controls … was second in the ACC in caused turnovers and third in caused turnovers per game (1.95) … finished fifth in the ACC in draw controls and sixth in draw controls per game (4.50) … had multiple caused turnovers in 16 games, including three caused turnovers in six games … tallied a career-high eight draw controls against UMass (2/19) … collected a career-best six ground balls in the national semifinals against Northwestern (5/23) … dominated the postseason (ACC & NCAA Tournament) with a team-best 22 draw controls, 14 caused turnovers and was second with 13 ground balls.

11th - Marissa White | Spent two seasons at North Carolina, highlighted by a national championship and ACC title in 2025 ... scored 95 goals with 10 assists for 105 goals in 43 career games ... totaled 24 ground balls ... was second on the team with 49 goals and third with 56 points last season ... had 18 games with multiple points, including three with five ... scored five goals in a win over Cal (4/13) ... registered five goals against Clemson (5/11) ... was a member of the All-ACC Freshman team in 2023 ... led the Tar Heels with 46 goals and fourth with 49 points her debut season ... ranked the No. 2 recruit in her class by Inside Lacrosse … Under Armour All-America game participant.

21st - Lydia Colasante | Played and started in 15 games … First-Team All-ACC … ILWomen.com Midseason All-American … IWLCA First-Team All-Northeast Region … IWLCA Second-Team All-American … USA Lacrosse Magazine Second-Team All-American .. ILWomen.com First-Team All-American … Tewaaraton Watch List … third on the team with a career-high 20 caused turnovers … her 53 draw controls were third while her 23 ground balls were third as well … totaled four goals and one assist … netted her first collegiate goal against Loyola Maryland (2/7) to go along with a personal-best four caused turnovers and three ground balls … totaled nine caused turnovers, 17 draw controls, and nine ground balls over a four-game stretch … notched a career-best seven draw controls with three ground balls at Notre Dame (3/8) … had six games with multiple caused turnovers and four games with at least five draw controls.

45th - Devon Russell | Saw action in 21 games with 18 starts … ACC All-Academic Team … Second-Team All-ACC … was named a top-10 Impact Freshman by Inside Lacrosse at No. 7 … had a stellar freshman campaign with 16 goals, three assists, 19 points, 12 draw controls, 12 ground balls and 19 draw controls … scored her first collegiate goal in the season opener against Loyola (2/7) … followed that up with a season-high three points (2 goals, 1 assist) against BU (2/9) …turned in two goals and one assist with six draw controls against Duke (2/22) … tallied four caused turnovers, two ground balls and one goal against Dartmouth … scored a goal in four straight games … had three games with multiple caused turnovers.

Eagles Ranked Third
Boston College finished the season with a 19-3 mark with an eighth straight trip to the NCAA semifinals and a third consecutive appearance in the ACC title. The Eagles started the season with a 13-0 mark en route to a program-record 21-game win streak. Since 2017, BC leads the nation with 158 wins, has two national titles since 2021, and a pair of ACC championships since 2023.

Checking in at No. 3 😤 pic.twitter.com/wuiFooGpm7
— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) January 5, 2026

Eight Eagles Make Final Team USA Roster
Head Boston College and USA Lacrosse coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein named the final roster of 22 players that will represent the United States in the Nissin Foods 2026 World Lacrosse Women's Championship held in Tokyo from July 24-August 2.

Boston College leads the number of selections with eight players. The roster also features coach Walker-Weinstein and associate head coach Jen Kent, who is Team USA's Operations Administrator. Current Eagles in Shea Dolce and Shea Baker made the team, while Sam Apuzzo '19, Kenzie Kent '19, Charlotte North '22, Sydney Scales '24, Cassidy Weeks '24 and Emma LoPinto '24 were named to the roster as well.

On the world stage 🌍

Congratulations to these eight for making the final roster with @USALWNT! Off to Tokyo for the 2026 @WorldLacrosse Women's Championship 🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/kkgW9ez1S6
— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) January 15, 2026