Boston College Athletics
World Champs Return To BC As Fall Ball Begins
September 30, 2026 | Lacrosse, #ForBoston Files
A group of Eagles spent the summer bringing a fifth straight gold to American soil.
The college lacrosse season is a frenetic race through the late winter and early spring months that sends players and coaches into its offseason while campuses are emptying out. The week-in and week-out grind of practices, film sessions and games hit a dramatic and often sudden end when fields become as dormant as the halls and classrooms around them, but they offer a reflection of the end-of-year excitement before summer training kicks into high gear.
This past summer, training at Boston College meant something altogether different, and the Eagles that return to the field for next week's fall ball schedule are doing so with a newfound honor after head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein and a flock of her former players and current coaches won the World Lacrosse Women's Championship gold medal as part of a star-studded and historically great Team USA.
"I feel very lucky to be able to say that this summer was exactly what I thought it would be," said Walker-Weinstein, who won a gold medal as Team USA's head coach. "The coaching staff was a dream, and it was remarkable how we were on the same page about the roster, about playing time, about philosophies. We were on the same page a lot, and that paved the way for the girls. It was beyond my wildest dreams, but it met every expectation that I had."
Playing and coaching for the Americans carries a heavy weight provided by the crown of an unmatched championship pedigree. The winners of nine of the previous 11 championships before this summer hadn't lost a game since the 2005 gold medal match, and their only other losses beyond the 1986 final included less than a half-dozen games in group play at the event. The 2017 Americans outscored opponents by 65 goals across five games in group play, and the 2022 team went plus-41 before winning its four knockout round games by an aggregate total of 67-13.
Walker-Weinstein notably played midfield for the 2009 world championship team and previously won a gold medal with the U19 Americans in 1999, but she didn't prowl the sidelines until USA Lacrosse hired her as the senior women's head coach in 2024, a time period that included her seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Championship final with two wins.
"It was my overall coaching philosophy that I hoped would bleed into the USA jersey," she said. "I wanted it to be an unselfish [team] that worked genuinely to help others get into the spotlight by playing lacrosse the right way. We wanted to have a high IQ and play fast and creative because that's what I expected at BC. It's what I expected when I played for Team USA, and it's how I played at Maryland. I was just taught at a very early age that that's the way to build a team, and nothing shifted when I took that USA job."
The subtle irony, of course, was that the bulk of the American team potentially played at Boston College, and others on the team either coached with Walker-Weinstein or played against the Eagles at the most elite levels. Players like Charlotte North, Emma LoPinto, Rachel Clark, Dempsey Arsenault, Cassidy Weeks, Sam Apuzzo, McKenna Davis and Sydney Scales were professionals who either helped build the Athletes Unlimited league or transitioned or played in the Women's Lacrosse League, and Shea Dolce and Shea Baker were part of the 2026 graduating class.Â
Others, like Ally Kennedy, Izzy Scane, Madison Taylor, Marie McCool, Ally Mastroianni, Katie Goodale, Brigid Duffy and Anna Brandt were part either opponents of BC at the national level or were part of tournaments and rosters that competed with and against the Eagles, while the coaching and administrative staff was lined with Kayla Treanor, a former BC assistant who became Syracuse's head coach, Devon Wills, Melissa Lehman, and Jen Kent, Walker-Weinstein's top lieutenant at BC.
Given the resumes, it stood to reason that this was the greatest assembly of women's lacrosse players in the history of the game. Five of the last six Tewaaraton Award winners were on the team, including North and Scane, who individually won consecutive titles across a four-year span from 2021-2024, and Apuzzo had recently been named head coach of the Southern California team.
"We grabbed players and introduced them to the system," said Walker-Weinstein, "and we kept players who we believed were capable of [playing the style]. Through the naturally process, we had to cut players who were incredibly talented, but we had to look at things at a deeper level than just playing a certain style. We were given over two years to find that roster, and they believed in [everything].Â
"Jen [Kent] and I are 100 percent aligned," she said, "and Kayla Treanor is one of the most elite offensive minds. Melissa Lehman has one of the highest defensive IQs, and Devin Wills is one of the greatest athletes of our time. Having the best of the best and having these very deep bonds with them let us pursue this mission, and that's what allowed us to remain constantly aligned. It was the right group of people."
Once assembled, the American juggernaut looked unbeatable, but the performances turned the dream into a reality after it arrived in Tokyo. An unbeaten group roster led to a 23-4 quarterfinal victory over Puerto Rico and a 19-7 win over an upstart Israeli roster before a 16-4 win over Canada clinched the gold medal. Previous wins over Ireland, Chinese Taipei and the native Haudenosauncee tribe - a unique quirk within the lacrosse community that stems from the Iroquois nations in North America - produced a sixth straight championship and a celebration that was a half-world away.
"I'd always had this dream of getting to pair Charlotte with Izzy Scane and Taylor Waters or Madison Taylor," said Walker-Weinstein. "I've been watching this whole group for decades and loving them from afar when I couldn't coach them, so pairing them with girls that I know so well - my BC girls - was so fun. Their relationship blossomed, and it was such an honor. I just remember the first starting lineup and the last starting lineup and thinking about how life has gone. The combination of human beings that we had in a USA jersey, I got to coach them. That was a dream come true, and I don't know if I'll ever have an experience quite like it."
This past summer, training at Boston College meant something altogether different, and the Eagles that return to the field for next week's fall ball schedule are doing so with a newfound honor after head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein and a flock of her former players and current coaches won the World Lacrosse Women's Championship gold medal as part of a star-studded and historically great Team USA.
"I feel very lucky to be able to say that this summer was exactly what I thought it would be," said Walker-Weinstein, who won a gold medal as Team USA's head coach. "The coaching staff was a dream, and it was remarkable how we were on the same page about the roster, about playing time, about philosophies. We were on the same page a lot, and that paved the way for the girls. It was beyond my wildest dreams, but it met every expectation that I had."
Playing and coaching for the Americans carries a heavy weight provided by the crown of an unmatched championship pedigree. The winners of nine of the previous 11 championships before this summer hadn't lost a game since the 2005 gold medal match, and their only other losses beyond the 1986 final included less than a half-dozen games in group play at the event. The 2017 Americans outscored opponents by 65 goals across five games in group play, and the 2022 team went plus-41 before winning its four knockout round games by an aggregate total of 67-13.
Walker-Weinstein notably played midfield for the 2009 world championship team and previously won a gold medal with the U19 Americans in 1999, but she didn't prowl the sidelines until USA Lacrosse hired her as the senior women's head coach in 2024, a time period that included her seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Championship final with two wins.
"It was my overall coaching philosophy that I hoped would bleed into the USA jersey," she said. "I wanted it to be an unselfish [team] that worked genuinely to help others get into the spotlight by playing lacrosse the right way. We wanted to have a high IQ and play fast and creative because that's what I expected at BC. It's what I expected when I played for Team USA, and it's how I played at Maryland. I was just taught at a very early age that that's the way to build a team, and nothing shifted when I took that USA job."
The subtle irony, of course, was that the bulk of the American team potentially played at Boston College, and others on the team either coached with Walker-Weinstein or played against the Eagles at the most elite levels. Players like Charlotte North, Emma LoPinto, Rachel Clark, Dempsey Arsenault, Cassidy Weeks, Sam Apuzzo, McKenna Davis and Sydney Scales were professionals who either helped build the Athletes Unlimited league or transitioned or played in the Women's Lacrosse League, and Shea Dolce and Shea Baker were part of the 2026 graduating class.Â
Others, like Ally Kennedy, Izzy Scane, Madison Taylor, Marie McCool, Ally Mastroianni, Katie Goodale, Brigid Duffy and Anna Brandt were part either opponents of BC at the national level or were part of tournaments and rosters that competed with and against the Eagles, while the coaching and administrative staff was lined with Kayla Treanor, a former BC assistant who became Syracuse's head coach, Devon Wills, Melissa Lehman, and Jen Kent, Walker-Weinstein's top lieutenant at BC.
Given the resumes, it stood to reason that this was the greatest assembly of women's lacrosse players in the history of the game. Five of the last six Tewaaraton Award winners were on the team, including North and Scane, who individually won consecutive titles across a four-year span from 2021-2024, and Apuzzo had recently been named head coach of the Southern California team.
"We grabbed players and introduced them to the system," said Walker-Weinstein, "and we kept players who we believed were capable of [playing the style]. Through the naturally process, we had to cut players who were incredibly talented, but we had to look at things at a deeper level than just playing a certain style. We were given over two years to find that roster, and they believed in [everything].Â
"Jen [Kent] and I are 100 percent aligned," she said, "and Kayla Treanor is one of the most elite offensive minds. Melissa Lehman has one of the highest defensive IQs, and Devin Wills is one of the greatest athletes of our time. Having the best of the best and having these very deep bonds with them let us pursue this mission, and that's what allowed us to remain constantly aligned. It was the right group of people."
Once assembled, the American juggernaut looked unbeatable, but the performances turned the dream into a reality after it arrived in Tokyo. An unbeaten group roster led to a 23-4 quarterfinal victory over Puerto Rico and a 19-7 win over an upstart Israeli roster before a 16-4 win over Canada clinched the gold medal. Previous wins over Ireland, Chinese Taipei and the native Haudenosauncee tribe - a unique quirk within the lacrosse community that stems from the Iroquois nations in North America - produced a sixth straight championship and a celebration that was a half-world away.
"I'd always had this dream of getting to pair Charlotte with Izzy Scane and Taylor Waters or Madison Taylor," said Walker-Weinstein. "I've been watching this whole group for decades and loving them from afar when I couldn't coach them, so pairing them with girls that I know so well - my BC girls - was so fun. Their relationship blossomed, and it was such an honor. I just remember the first starting lineup and the last starting lineup and thinking about how life has gone. The combination of human beings that we had in a USA jersey, I got to coach them. That was a dream come true, and I don't know if I'll ever have an experience quite like it."
Players Mentioned
Wednesday, October 07
Wednesday, October 07
Monday, October 05
Saturday, October 03
