In the rain, wind, and cold, one thing that did not waver for No. 4 Boston College Lacrosse in their matchup against No. 16 Yale University was their ability to produce offensively.
The Eagles scored 16 goals on 36 shots, marking the seventh game in a row in which BC has scored 14 goals or more.
“I wish we had shot a little better but I’m happy with the 36 shots, because they’ve just limited their last opponent to 10 shots.” BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said.
The Eagles (11–2, 5–1 Atlantic Coast) led by hat-tricks from Rachel Clark, Belle Smith and Cassidy Weeks, defeated the Bulldogs (9–1, 3–0 Ivy League) 16–8 on Wednesday afternoon inside a wet Alumni Stadium.
Emma LoPinto, Kayla Martello and Smith provided a quick start for the Eagles offense, with all three scoring in the first 3:40 of the game.
Ashley Kiernan got one back for the Bulldogs with 3:52 remaining in the first, firing a shot low past Shea Dolce on a free-position shot following a foul by Ryan Smith.
The Bulldogs kept the pressure on to end the first quarter. But a few timely saves from Dolce, strong man-marking, and aggressive perimeter defense by the Eagles prevented Yale from capitalizing on their possession.
Sydney Scales, who caused two turnovers in the game, cited the team’s communication to be an integral part of their defensive success.
“A lot of it is just communication and trust that you can step out and guard that one v. one, and I think we had that today which is great,” Scales said.
Karina Herrera eventually slipped one under Dolce’s stick to make it 3–2. But the Bulldogs’ one-goal deficit would not last, as LoPinto found a cutting Clark, who scored with one second remaining in the opening quarter.
“We have such great players at X, Emma [LoPinto], McKenna [Davis], and Kayla [Martello],” Clark said. “I think they draw so much attention, which makes the top cuts wide open.
Jenna Collignon tried to get the Bulldogs going with two second-quarter goals, the first of which came after she rolled off Hunter Roman and drove unopposed down the middle, then fired a shot into the top-left corner.
“At halftime, we talked a lot about keeping them out of the middle,” Scales said. “On those ones we want to, especially when we’re sliding, kind of force them down the alley.”
But the Eagles took control of the game in the second quarter, weathering pressure from the Bulldogs and compiling an 8–5 lead heading into the half.
Smith scored her second goal of the game from inside the circle to make it 10–5 early in the third.
“The coaches kind of gave us the reins to be able to hit those long balls more and push our transition,” Smith said. “I think that’s a big spark for our time when we get transition goals, you know that’s all the excitement.”
The goal from Smith officially moved her to 5th all-time in points in BC Lacrosse history.
“I’m very grateful for it,” Smith said. “I’m just honored to be part of a team where the ball moves so well and my teammates look for me, so credit to them.
The Eagles continued to move the ball well on the perimeter deep in the third quarter, opening up shooting lanes.
“I think those stats showed our team was just moving the ball well, and I think we’re really starting to build our team chemistry,” Clark said. “That’s how I am able to get some goals and assists, my team just makes it easy for me.”
Kiernan and Sky Carrasquillo added goals for the Bulldogs in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles added three of their own and put the game away with a 16–8 win.
“I think they showed up and really focused,” Walker-Weinstein said. “I don’t think it was a complete game, but I was really happy with their effort and I think we got better in certain things.”
Leave a Reply