No. 1 Boston College lacrosse’s matchup against Pittsburgh on Saturday was more than just another ACC Matchup. It was senior Elizabeth Kirk’s chance to wear the No. 19 jersey, honoring Welles Crowther in the annual Red Bandanna game.
And it couldn’t have been an easier decision for BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein.
“I’ve known Elizabeth since she was a little girl, probably since she was about nine or 10 years old, and she has always shown the qualities of unselfishness and being brave, and courageous throughout adversity,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She’s an absolute no-brainer. The girls are chanting her name right now, and it was a very easy choice.”
Kirk also described how she felt after being selected to wear No. 19.
“It is the biggest honor I can receive,” Kirk said. “We celebrate Welles every single day, and it’s embedded in our culture to be selfless and take care of your teammates. It’s such a big honor to play for him today, and we play for him every day.”
And it didn’t take long for the Eagles to make a mark in the matchup. A little less than three minutes into the game, Rachel Clark, the nation’s leading goal-scorer, came up big.
Ultimately, BC (13–0, 6–0 Atlantic Coast) defeated the Panthers (6–6,1–5) 18–6.
Off a Mia Mascone assist, Clark attacked the net, rattling a shot through the legs of Molly Cain—banking in her 57th goal of the season.
Almost five minutes later, Clark and Mascone connected with each other yet again, bringing the score to 2–0.
But the first quarter did not end as expected. Unlike almost all of the Eagles’ other regular-season games so far, BC entered the second frame with only a one-goal lead, as the score stood at 2–1.
That wouldn’t last for much longer, though, as BC broke away from any Panthers’ advance during the second frame. Tallying hat tricks in the second period, Emma LoPinto and Clark led BC’s offense in goals scored.
Even though the Eagles improved during the second frame, one thing continued to plague BC’s performance: turnovers.
“We’ve got a lot to fix,” Walker-Weinstein said. “We had 15 turnovers, and that’s the bottom line. We didn’t follow our game plan as closely and as disciplined as we would have liked, and we are going to work very hard this week.”
While BC’s offense started to heat up, its sloppiness and scoring woes silenced any runaway lead in the first half.
It wasn’t until the end of the third frame that it became apparent that there was no chance of a Panthers comeback.
And Lydia Colasante made that happen. Off a successful Shea Dolce clear in the defensive end, Colasante sprinted the ball toward BC’s offensive half. Juking her defenders and heading toward Pitt’s net, Colasante fired a shot toward the Panthers’ crease, and the ball sailed into the back of her opponents’ net, unassisted.
From then on, it was the BC show, as the Eagles tacked on another six goals in the final quarter of the game.
Even though the Eagles’ offense may have struggled with turnovers in the matchup, there was one thing that remained constant within the game—the performance of Dolce.
Leading the country in save percentage, Dolce proved exactly why on Saturday, coming up with four big saves on Panthers free-position shots.
“It shows how hard she prepares and how she works,” Walker-Weinstein said. “She has come on really strong at the right time, and she has gotten better during this time of the year, which is hard to do. She always does it, and this is her third year doing it.”
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