Vol. 11: Boston College Remains Thorn in 'Cuse's Side, Squashes Perfect Orange Season
BC started the year 6-3 but rallied to win the ACC regular season title for the third time since 2018. It wouldn't have been possible without a five-goal comeback against undefeated Syracuse.
Cassidy Weeks (left), Ryan Smith (middle) and Andrea Reynolds (right) celebrate during BC’s 17-16 comeback win at Syracuse. Photo courtesy: Kelly Coughlan/BC Athletics.
The student hasn’t become the master just yet.
After helping Boston College head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein win a national championship in 2021, against Syracuse of all teams, now-Orange head coach Kayla Treanor can’t seem to top her old mentor.
Treanor, a three-time Tewaaraton Award finalist at Syracuse, has coached her alma mater to a 31-7 record in her first two years at the helm.Â
BC has accounted for two of those seven losses.
Both have come in the regular season finale. But last weekend’s defeat to the Eagles was more painful than the first for Treanor and Co.
Syracuse had a five-goal lead five different times at home and still lost. And that was with an undefeated season, an ACC regular season title and a No. 1 national ranking on the line.
As has so often been the case during BC’s ascent to the sport’s upper echelon under Walker-Weinstein, the Eagles made a seemingly insurmountable deficit evaporate.Â
BC came back from six goals down in the 2019 Final Four to eventually upend North Carolina in overtime. Last year, the Eagles went on a game-ending 4-0 run in the final seven minutes to beat Maryland in the Final Four. Earlier this season, BC stormed back from a four-goal deficit at Notre Dame with under 10 minutes left, winning in regulation. The Eagles did it again less than two weeks later, this time scoring five of the game’s final six goals to upset Syracuse, 17-16.
Sophomore attacker Mckenna Davis scored a career-high four goals, including the game-winner, which was assisted by junior middie Belle Smith, who tallied a season-high seven points. Freshman goalie Shea Dolce posted 10-plus saves for the second time this season. Both Dolce and Smith ended up earning weekly ACC honors.
You can never count out BC. That’s been the story of the season for the Eagles, who started 6-3 with a heartbreaking loss to Northwestern and a pair of sizable defeats to UNC and Denver.Â
Flash forward to Wednesday when BC rolled past Duke for its eighth straight win while advancing to the ACC Tournament semis as the top seed and the conference regular season champions for the third time since 2018.
Walker-Weinstein has her team playing its best lacrosse when it matters most. That statement has rung true the last half decade.
Syracuse, meanwhile, is still looking to avenge its 2021 national title game loss. The Orange were in the driver’s seat all season, except, at the moment, they have no hardware to show for it.
Other Storylines to Know:
Marquette is finally ranked. It’s about time. Marquette is ranked for the first time in program history. The Golden Eagles have lost only one game all season and, just now, are in the Inside Lacrosse Top 25. They are one of five teams in the poll with at least 15 wins, and the other four (Northwestern, Syracuse, Denver and James Madison) are in the top five.
Marquette senior attacker Shea Garcia blitzes through a pair of UConn players. The Golden Eagles defeated the Huskies, 12-9, but are still ranked below them. Photo courtesy: Marquette Athletics.
Marquette hasn’t lost since Feb. 23, and that was against the No. 1 team in the country, Northwestern. And the Golden Eagles were more competitive in that game than the 21-14 score line suggests. Neither team outscored the other by more than one goal in the first, third and fourth quarters. The Wildcats created their cushion in the second frame. Ranked 17th in RPI with a chance to unseat undefeated Denver for the Big East regular season title Saturday, Marquette is no slouch. Just keep this in mind: Marquette’s 15 victories this season match the program’s win total from the last two years combined. Take a bow, Golden Eagles.
Northwestern dominates Maryland, moves to No. 1 in poll. Northwestern left no doubt about who deserved the Big Ten regular season title this season. The Wildcats ran the table in conference play, recording two more Big Ten wins than any other team in the league, including fellow powerhouse Maryland. Fittingly, Northwestern put the finishing touches on its regular season dominance with a 13-6 beatdown of the Terrapins.
The game was tied at 4-4 at halftime, and then the Wildcats outscored Maryland, 9-2, in the final two quarters. Northwestern controlled the draw, 9-3, in the second half, during which head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller’s squad posted 16 more shots on goal than the Terps. Hailey Rhatigan reached the four-goal mark for the seventh game in a row in the victory. As for Maryland, head coach Cathy Reese is in need of a quick fix. Last week, Penn State held the Terps to their fewest goals (7) in a game since 1997. They scored one fewer versus Northwestern.
ACC kicks off conference tournament action, and the semifinals are set. As is tradition, the ACC kicked off conference tournament action a week before most other conferences, and it’s gone largely chalk through the first two rounds. In round one, Duke defeated Louisville, 12-11, avenging a one-goal defeat by the Cardinals from two weeks ago, but the Blue Devils fell, 15-9, to top-seeded BC in the quarterfinals to end their season. Duke finished below .500 (8-10) and is therefore ineligible for the NCAA Tournament, despite being ranked No. 11 in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll.Â
In the other first round game, 7-seed Virginia Tech crushed 10-seed Pitt, 18-6, before narrowly falling to 2-seed Syracuse, 14-12, in the quarters. Hokies sophomore midfielder Blair Guy scored a career-high five goals, and Virginia Tech stayed within one goal of the Orange for the entire first half. Syracuse graduate star Meaghan Tyrrell came on late, scoring or assisting on all three of the Orange’s fourth quarter goals.
Elsewhere in the quarterfinals, North Carolina took care of Clemson, 16-6, and 5-seed Notre Dame withstood a five-goal scoring run by 4-seed Virginia to secure a 15-13 win. Irish senior attacker Jackie Wolak led all scorers with seven points (4 goals, 3 assists). BC faces Notre Dame in the first semifinal on Friday, and then Syracuse takes on UNC.
Army beats Navy to claim sole possession of second place in the Patriot League. One of the oldest rivalries in college athletics carried a bit more weight this past weekend. Both No. 15 Army and No. 25 Navy entered their Saturday matchup with a 6-1 Patriot League record, just one game back of first-place Loyola. Then, freshman attacker Allison Reilly rewrote the Army record book en route to delivering the Black Knights a 15-11 win.
Army freshman attacker Allison Reilly had 12 points against Navy, earning her Patriot League Rookie and Attacker of the Week nods. Reilly has five multi-point games this season. Graphic courtesy: Army Athletics.
Reilly finished with nine goals and 12 points, both of which broke school records. She also tied Youngstown State’s Natalie Calandra-Ryan and Northwestern’s Izzy Scane for most points in a game this season. Senior attacker Julia Franzoni added a hat trick of her own, and the Army defense limited Navy’s top scorer, Ava Yovino, to just three points. With the win, Army locked up the 2-seed in the Patriot League Tournament and earned itself a first-round bye.
UMass fends off St. Joes in A-10 battle. After a four-goal defeat at the hands of St. Joseph’s in the 2022 A-10 championship game, No. 13 UMass had to wait 357 days for a chance at revenge against the Hawks. The Minutewomen were ready, outscoring St. Joe’s, 5-2, in each of the first two quarters, well on their way to a 15-12 win. UMass peppered 11 first quarter shots and scored the first four goals, including a pair from graduate midfielder Amy Moreau. She finished with a game-high five goals.Â
UMass’ defense was stifling, too. The Hawks committed 17 turnovers, seven of which were caused by the Minutewomen. UMass goalies Gina Carroll and Catrina Tobin only needed to combine for three saves. With the win, UMass secured at least a share of its 12th consecutive A-10 regular season title. The Minutewomen are now 96-1 in conference play since the start of the 2011 season.
Starting next Thursday, UMass will seek its 11th A-10 championship. The program has made the title game every season since 2008.
USC pulls ahead in Pac 12 race. It’s a down year for the Pac-12. Only one team in the conference, USC, has double-digit wins this season. And whoever gets the automatic bid could be the league’s only lock for this year’s NCAA Tournament. For reference, last year, USC and Stanford both made the field, and Arizona State was just barely on the outside looking in. What’s more, there were four Pac-12 teams with 11-plus wins, including Colorado, in 2022.
USC head coach Lindsay Munday signals to her team from the sidelines. The Trojans lead the Pac-12 with an 8-1 conference record. Graphic courtesy: John McGillen/USC Athletics.
Stanford has made a late push, winning five of its last seven games. As a result, the Cardinal—who started 0-4 against ranked opponents this year—are 7-2 in Pac-12 play, one game back from the Women of Troy in the league standings. USC, however, has four more overall victories and can take care of business Friday at Arizona State. The Trojans have six players with 20-plus goals and are currently riding a four-game win streak. Their real strong suit, though, is their sixth-ranked scoring defense (8.31 goals allowed per game). Led by defenders Olivia Dooley and Emma Wightman, USC is eighth nationally in caused turnovers per game (11.19).
Johns Hopkins continues late surge, takes down Penn State. How about the Blue Jays? Winners of four of their last five, Johns Hopkins defeated then-No. 14 Penn State, 16-12, on Senior Day to close out the regular season. Junior midfielder Abbey Hurlbrink scored a career-high five goals, and senior midfielder Bailey Cheetham added a hat trick. The Blue Jays dominated on the offensive end, outshooting the Nittany Lions, 50-26, and outpacing them, 35-22, in shots on goals.Â
Hopkins is the 3-seed in the Big Ten Tournament, behind only top-seeded Northwestern and Maryland. The Blue Jays fell to the Wildcats, 19-5, in the regular season and lost to Maryland by one, 13-12. They take on 6-seed Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Penn State is the 5-seed and will face Michigan in round one.
Weekly Focus:
IVY SET FOR ENTERTAINING FINAL REGULAR SEASON WEEKEND
You want madness? We’ve got madness. With just one set of games remaining in the regular season, only Penn has clinched a berth in the Ivy League Tournament. The Quakers are a perfect 6-0 and have locked up the regular season title. Five other teams—Harvard (4-2), Yale (3-3), Cornell (3-3), Dartmouth (3-3) and Princeton (3-3)—are fighting for the final three spots. Let’s explore.
Penn has been the best team to this point. The Quakers entered the Inside Lacrosse Top 25 in Week 3, and they haven’t left, now ranked No. 14. They crushed Yale, 16-6, in early April before defeating Cornell and Princeton back-to-back at home. Senior attacker Niki Miles leads the conference in scoring (3.29 goals per game), and senior goalie Kelly Van Hoesen is first in goals against average (10.21). Not a bad combo, right?
Penn poses with the Ivy League championship banner and trophy following its victory over Princeton. The Quakers will be the top seed in the Ivy League Tournament. Photo courtesy: Michael Nance/Penn Athletics.
Harvard is rolling, too. As we detailed last week, the Crimson picked the perfect time to go on a winning streak. Unbeaten in their last six games, Devon Wills’ squad has catapulted from an 0-2 Ivy start to standing alone in second place at 4-2. Harvard leads the Ivy League in ground balls per game (19.62), thanks to a strong midfield unit that features sophomore Grace Taylor and first year Charlotte Hodgson. Harvard also has the second-best scoring defense in the conference (10.23 goals allowed per game).
Yale, Cornell, Dartmouth and Princeton have all fought to a .500 conference record through the first six games. The Bulldogs, once ranked No. 13 in the nation, have lost their last three games. Cornell has had a flair for the dramatic, playing three straight contests decided by three goals or fewer. After a thrilling double-overtime win against Harvard, the Big Red fell by three to Penn before beating Yale by two.
Dartmouth sophomore attacker Katina Christensen charges in on a free-position opportunity. She leads the team in points with 37. Photo courtesy: John and Matt Risley/Dartmouth Athletics.
Dartmouth and Princeton have been some of the biggest surprises. Picked seventh in the preseason poll, the Big Green shocked the conference by beating the Tigers, 15-14. Attackers Katie Elders and Katina Christensen each poured in four goals. Dartmouth has been helped by an elite draw control unit—the Big Green are first in the Ivy in draw control percentage (55.9%) and draw controls per game (15.14). Meanwhile, the Tigers, picked first in the preseason poll, have fallen out of the national poll and have lost four of their last six games.
On Saturday, Yale is at Columbia; Dartmouth is at Penn; and Brown is at Cornell. Harvard plays at Princeton on Sunday.
The most interesting part of all this? None of the 3-3 teams play each other in the finale. If Princeton defeats Harvard, and Yale, Cornell and Dartmouth win, there would be a five-way tie for second place. Oh boy. Get your tiebreakers ready, because the Ivy League is coming down to the wire.
Numbers to Know:
12 – The number of teams that are undefeated in conference play. UMass (A-10), UAlbany (America East), Florida (American), Liberty (ASUN), Mercer (Big South), Northwestern (Big Ten), Stony Brook (CAA), Penn (Ivy), Sacred Heart (NEC) and Loyola (Patriot) are all alone in first place of their respective conferences. Denver and Marquette are both unbeaten in the Big East and square off to finish the regular season on Saturday.Â
4 – Northwestern’s Izzy Scane leads the country in four major statistical categories: goals per game (5.21), points per game (6.71), shots per game (10.43) and shots on goal per game (7.36). That’s a pretty solid boost to an already strong Tewaaraton Award resume.
93 – The number of goals that Denver has allowed this season. No other team has allowed fewer than 100. Following Syracuse’s loss to BC last week, the Pioneers are now the only undefeated team in the country.
Tewaaraton Watch:
The Tewaaraton Award Foundation revealed the top-25 nominees for the sport’s most prestigious award last week. The list includes honorees from 14 different schools, headlined by Northwestern (four players) and Syracuse (three). BC, Denver, Florida, James Madison, Loyola and Notre Dame all have two players in Tewaaraton consideration.
Northwestern’s Izzy Scane and Syracuse’s Meaghan Tyrrell—the nation’s No. 1 and No. 2 scorers, respectively—are leading the race. Both are in position to be repeat finalists. Tyrrell was a finalist last year, while Scane was one of the final five up for the award in 2021.
But here’s every player who made the cut:
Madison Ahern, Sr. –, Attack (Notre Dame)
Meghan Ball, Sr. –, Defense (Rutgers)
Abby Bosco, Gr. – Defense (Maryland)
Kasey Choma, Sr. – Midfield (Notre Dame)
Erin Coykendall, Sr. – Attack (Northwestern)
Katie Detwiler, Gr. – Defense (Loyola)
Mairead Durkin, Sr. – Defense (James Madison)
Emma LoPinto, So. – Attack (Florida)
Ellie Masera, Jr. – Midfield (Stony Brook)
Ashlyn McGovern, Gr. – Attack (UVA)
Trinity McPherson, Gr. – Defense (Denver)
Jenn Medjid, Gr. – Attack (BC)
Emily Nalls, Sr. – Defense (UNC)
Isabella Peterson, Jr. – Attack (James Madison)
Sarah Reznick, R-Jr. – Goalie (Florida)
Hailey Rhatigan, Gr. – Attack (Northwestern)
Izzy Scane, Gr. – Attack (Northwestern)
Belle Smith, Jr. – Midfield (BC)
Jill Smith, So. – Attack (Michigan)
Delaney Sweitzer, Sr. – Goalie (Syracuse)
Sam Thacker, Sr. – Defense (Denver)
Meaghan Tyrrell, Gr. – Attack (Syracuse)
Emma Ward, Jr. – Attack (Syracuse)
Sammy White, So. – Defense (Northwestern)
Jillian Wilson, Gr. – Midfield (Loyola)
The five finalists for this year’s Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be announced on May 11. The ceremony will take place in Washington, D.C. on June 1.
POINTS LEADERS
GOALS LEADERS
NOTE:Â Stats correct through April 25.
Inside Lacrosse Poll
Screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
We have our third No. 1 team in the Inside Lacrosse Top 25 this season: Northwestern. The Big Ten regular season champion Wildcats leapfrogged Syracuse following BC’s comeback win over the Orange. Northwestern hasn’t lost since its season-opening heartbreaker versus ’Cuse. Denver, the only remaining undefeated team, held steady at No. 3. Winners of eight straight, BC climbed to No. 4. That moved James Madison down to No. 5, despite the Dukes’ dominant win against Rutgers. Loyola went from No. 10 to No. 9, trading places with Stony Brook after the Greyhounds rattled off their ninth consecutive win of 10 or more goals
Johns Hopkins made the biggest jump this week, going from No. 22 to No. 16. The Blue Jays, who have now won four of their last five, improved to 8-7 with a 16-12 victory over Penn State, which dropped from No. 14 to No. 18. Yale’s slide continued, as the Bulldogs lost their third in a row, this time falling to .500 Cornell. Once the Ivy League frontrunner, Yale is now No. 22. The biggest poll winner this week? It has to be Marquette. The Golden Eagles are ranked for the first time in program history, and it’s long overdue. They’re 15-1 with a shot at the Big East regular season title.
What’s Ahead?
No. 1 Boston College (1-seed) vs. No. 7 Notre Dame (5-seed), April 28, 1 p.m.
No. 3 Syracuse (2-seed) vs. No. 6 UNC (3-seed), April 28, 3:30 p.m.Â
Harvard @ Princeton, April 29, 12 p.m.
No. 18 Penn State (5-seed) @ No. 19 Michigan (4-seed), April 29, 12 p.m.
No. 3 Denver @ No. 24 Marquette, April 29, 1 p.m.
Mercer @ Campbell, April 29, 1 p.m.
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