For the second time this season, Boston College lacrosse only tallied three goals in a first half—this time in Wednesday’s non-conference matchup with Monmouth. One game removed from netting seven first-half goals against No. 1 Maryland, the Eagles’ offense struggled to string together scoring opportunities.
But the same was true for the Hawks.
Head coach Acacia Walker’s group forced six Monmouth turnovers in the opening 30 minutes, disrupting the Hawks’ attack. And goaltender Zoe Ochoa saved 7-of-9 shots sent her way.
At intermission, the Eagles held a one-goal lead. But it was only a matter of time before their No. 17 offense broke free. Less than two minutes into the second half, BC’s scoring spree began. Led by Kate Weeks, Kayla O’Connor, and Sam Apuzzo, the Eagles recorded 11 second-half goals, en route to a 14-5 victory.
It only took BC (7-3, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) one minute to get on the board. After O’Connor won a draw control, Laura Frankenfield launched a shot past Riley Brager. But soon after, Monmouth (2-6) knotted it up. Amanda Miller scooped up a ground ball and cleared it out of Hawk territory. Nicole Ceraso then found Alexa Smith for her eighth goal of the year.
But the high-octane scoring would flounder. Eventually, BC regained the lead. Emma Schurr received a feed from Kate Taylor and cashed in for the Eagles’ second goal, as the game neared the 10-minute mark.
Later, BC extended its lead, thanks to the duo of Weeks and Apuzzo. Coming into Wednesday, the pair of attackers had combined for a total of 87 points—close to half of the team’s production. Their dominance would only continue. Here, Apuzzo located Weeks, who ripped one by Brager.
A Caroline Corbliss goal narrowed the Monmouth deficit to one as halftime approached. The five-combined first-half goals were the fewest that BC and its opponents have notched this season.
Then, everything changed—at least for the Eagles.
About two minutes in, Taylor found the back of the net. Corbliss countered with a score of her own. But from that moment forward, the Newton Lacrosse Field served as an offensive showcase for BC. The Eagles rattled off seven-straight goals, essentially putting the game out of Monmouth’s reach.
The first two came from Apuzzo. The sophomore was assisted by Dempsey Arsenault and Kaileen Hart, respectively, on the two scoring plays. Not too long after that, Frankenfield took a Weeks pass and netted her second goal of the game. Weeks’ assist marked her 100th collegiate point—she now joins teammate Tess Chandler and 20 others in program history to reach the milestone.
But it was time for the ACC’s third-leading scorer to get into the scoring mix. Weeks and O’Connor accounted for the remaining four goals during this stretch. The two senior attackers traded unassisted goals and free-position goals, extending the BC lead to eight.
Claudia Lamarca sent one past Lauren Daly, but a comeback was implausible—especially after Weeks responded with another goal. Monmouth would go on to score one more, but it was outweighed by O’Connor and Ally Mayle’s final touches on the Eagles’ 14-goal outing.
With the win, BC moves to 4-1 in its past five games. While non-conference victories pad the win column, the Eagles’ season will be determined by their performance within the ACC. So far, BC is 0-2 in conference action, so despite its success this season away from the ACC, it remains to be seen if the team can make the necessary jump to compete in the nation’s best conference.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Editor
