Vol. 13: Charlotte North Stars, BC Wins First-Ever National Championship
Charlotte North set the NCAA's single-season goals record, and fourth-seeded BC avenged three straight national championship losses with a 16-10 win over Syracuse.
Tewaaraton finalist Charlotte North hoists BC’s first-ever national championship trophy after the Eagles’ 16-10 win over Syracuse on May 30. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
During the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Boston College head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein took her team to a wooded area in Syracuse and asked her seniors at the time to throw rocks at window panes she had set up. She wanted to send a message.
That it was time to break the glass ceiling.
The unseeded Eagles did just that, reaching their first-ever National Championship. But one title game defeat soon became two and then three.
BC was stuck at the doorstep of greatness in a top-heavy sport. Back-to-back ACC regular season championships, a pair of 22-win seasons, the most dangerous three-headed attack in the sport, and it still wasn’t enough.
Yet, in a year when the Eagles entered as the No. 13 team in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll, Walker-Weinstein’s group finally got over the hump. Despite never cracking the top three or winning a conference title. Despite coming into Championship Weekend with a scoring defense outside the top 40.
When it mattered most, BC’s backline was suffocating. And senior attacker Charlotte North was unstoppable. Two days after pulling the upset of the year—with an 11-10 win over a 20-0 UNC team that stood atop the polls all season—the Eagles claimed their first-ever national championship against another ACC team: Syracuse.
The 16-10 victory was well in hand for most of the second half. It secured the first national title in program history as well as the first NCAA women’s national championship for the school.
“I’m so proud of the whole program,” an emotional Walker-Weinstein told Dana Boyle of ESPN after the game. “All the girls, all the alums, all the people that got us here, [the] administration. It’s been such a whirlwind for the last few years.
“Every member of the BC lacrosse program won a championship today. Every one of their family members. Everybody. We inched our way year after year. Picked up the pieces. Persisted. Pivoted when we needed to. And now we’re here.”
Final Four Rewind:
Behind Rachel Hall, BC snapped UNC’s 27-game win streak: The Eagles’ junior goaltender entered Championship Weekend having posted a meager .348 save percentage in her previous six games. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein maintained that the Oregon transfer had yet to show her best hand. She was right. Hall, whose move to BC was motivated by her dream to play in the Final Four, stood on her head during the Eagles’ national semifinal matchup against top-seeded UNC. Hall outclassed Tewaaraton finalist Taylor Moreno, registering 11 saves and a .524 save percentage. She flashed an array of split kick saves and off-stick stops while BC’s backline its best lacrosse of the season. Freshman defender Sydney Scales limited UNC’s Jamie Ortega to one goal, and the Eagles caused seven turnovers.
The Tar Heels jumped out to a 4-2 lead, but that’s when BC’s defense went to work, closing scoring windows and forcing possession changes. The Eagles finished the half on a 6-1 run, in large part thanks to Jenn Medjid, who notched a first-period hat trick. They padded their lead in the beginning of the second half by scoring three of the frame’s first four goals, staking themselves to an 11-6 advantage. Eventually, though, UNC—first in offensive efficiency, according to Lacrosse Reference—started to dig itself out of its five-goal hole. It helped that the Tar Heels, who won 16-of-23 bouts in the circle, had an edge on the draw. Katie Hoeg and Caitlyn Wurzburger were responsible for getting UNC back within two goals of the Eagles, yet the Tar Heels couldn’t cut their deficit to one until the final second of regulation. Hall and BC’s defense—which allowed 21 goals to UNC in the teams’ first meeting this season—made stop after stop in the final five minutes of play to preserve the 11-10 win.
Syracuse spoiled Northwestern’s perfect season with a stout defensive performance: The third-seeded Orange found itself pitted against the top scoring offense in the country. Of course, Syracuse stars Emily Hawryschuk and Megan Carney (both suffered season-ending ACL tears this year) would have come in handy, however, head coach Gary Gait and Syracuse had already become accustomed to finding other offense. They did that better than they have all year in the national semifinal matchup, piling up a season-high 21 goals. What’s more, the Orange bottled up Northwestern’s high-flying attack, conceding about 7.5 fewer goals than the Wildcats averaged throughout the 2021 campaign. Syracuse frustrated Northwestern on both ends, particularly in the first half when the Wildcats committed 26 fouls. Northwestern’s full-field ride backfired, even resulting in a couple of empty-net goals for the Orange.
The Wildcats’ physicality carried into the second half, and Northwestern finished with 49 fouls and seven yellow cards. It didn’t do much to disrupt the Syracuse attack, which was fueled by Meaghan (5 goals) and Emma (3 goals) Tyrrell. After Northwestern opened the scoring gates, the Orange orchestrated a 5-0 run, during which Syracuse goalie Asa Goldstock kept the Wildcats off the board for 18:11. Lindsey McKone found the back of the net again for Northwestern, but, once more, Syracuse responded with five consecutive goals. The Orange were up, 10-4, at the break. Slowly but surely, though, Northwestern fought its way back in the second period, with Izzy Scane bookending a 4-0 Wildcat scoring spurt that made it 15-12. Her 98th goal of the season would be as close as Northwestern was going to get to shutting the gap. Syracuse wrapped the 21-13 victory by logging six of the game’s last seven goals.
Junior attacker Meaghan Tyrrell hurls a shot on net amid Syracuse’s 21-13 victory against Northwestern in the Final Four on May 28. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
National Title Game Tid-Bits:
No matter what happened, we were going to get a first-time winner on Sunday. Neither BC nor Syracuse had captured a national title before this season. That said, both programs had previously made multiple appearances in the big game. The Orange were back for the first time since 2014. Syracuse lost to Maryland that season, and, two years earlier, the Orange fell to Northwestern in the national title game. BC, on the other hand, was looking to avenge three straight National Championship defeats.
It was an all-ACC matchup, which was fitting for a season that saw five teams from the conference gobble up national seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Not only that, but it was also the fourth meeting of the year between Syracuse and BC (the first time in the sport's history that’s ever happened). The Orange had won the previous two matchups, while the Eagles upset Syracuse in the Carrier Dome in the teams’ first head-to-head. Although BC still hasn’t won an ACC Tournament—Syracuse eliminated the Eagles in this year’s semifinals—Walker-Weinstein’s team effectively accomplished the feat in the NCAA Tournament, beating the league’s other top three teams in the Elite Eight, Final Four, and National Championship. In a relatively decisive fashion, too.
BC grad students Cara Urbank and Jillian Reilly have been with the team since its 2017 Cinderella run to the national title game. Before Sunday, they had been a part of every bit of heartbreak their program had faced in the last four years, including the pandemic cutting short the 2020 season. The fifth years finally got to bask in glory this weekend with a long-awaited national championship.
Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium was open to about 50% capacity for the National Championship, and it resulted in 5,405 spectators turning out. BC fans came out in swarms, with their iconic neon green “Superfan” shirts populating the stands. A new addition to this year’s Championship Weekend was a Texas flag. If you saw it and pondered its significance, it was for Hall and North, BC’s transfer duo who both hail from the Lone Star State (which isn’t known for lacrosse but featured two of the sport’s top performers this weekend).
BC players celebrate with recent alums of the program and school after their National Championship victory on May 30. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
How Did the Eagles Pull it Off?
The first half was everything you’d expect from a BC-Syracuse matchup. Five lead changes. Six ties. Three yellow cards.
BC rolled out to a 3-1 lead, courtesy of two unassisted goals from North, who later polished off a first-period hat trick. Syracuse answered with a 3-0 run, capped by Sierra Cockerille, who used a spin move to wrestle through a crowd of Eagle defenders before squeezing a shot inside the left pipe for a goal.
Back and forth the ACC foes went, with BC ultimately breaking a 7-7 tie in the waning minutes of the half. Caitlyn Mossman, who quietly recorded five points (1 goal, 4 assists), rounded out the Eagles’ scoring in the frame to give BC a 9-7 advantage. Then Ward brought the Orange back within one before intermission.
The second half was all about BC’s defense. Longtime coordinator Jen Kent—the mother of former Eagle dual-sport star Kenzie Kent—drew up a masterful game plan against the Orange’s motion offense, a scheme that’s dependent on ball movement around the eight-meter arc and handoff passes to create space for striding shooters. BC filled those holes and made it difficult for Syracuse to even put shots on cage.
Over the first 12 minutes of the second half, the Orange posted just one shot attempt while turning the ball over five times. One of those turnovers signified the way the period was going to go: Scales stole the ball away from Ward, and then Jenn Medjid scored on the other end with a catch-and-short opportunity in front of the net.
BC outscored Syracuse, 7-2, in the back half of play. The highlight was North’s record-breaking 101st goal, the most in the sport’s single-season history. She did it on a free-position shot with her signature windup and a laser rip past Goldstock.
The Eagles rode out the win, uncontested late, tying off a program-defining afternoon.
Championship Numbers to Know:
6 - number of caused turnovers BC recorded in the second half. To put that in perspective, the Eagles averaged 5.9 per game this season, the 11th fewest in Division I. Syracuse started the second period with one shot attempt and five turnovers.
59.3 - shooting percentage of BC, which converted 16 of its 27 shots into goals. It was characteristic of the Eagles, who led the country with a 53.1% clip this season. North carried the torch, scoring six goals on 10 shots.
26 - fouls committed by Syracuse, including three by Emma Tyrrell, who was bounced from the game after picking up her second yellow card within the first 20 minutes of the opening frame. Four of BC’s 16 goals came on free-position shots.
Inside North’s Tewaaraton Campaign:
Charlotte North sprints in jubilation after BC’s monumental 16-10 win over Syracuse in the National Championship on May 30. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
North shattered Sam Apuzzo’s single-season BC record for goals. In her pursuit of back-to-back Tewaaraton Awards, Apuzzo tallied 94 scores in 2019. It’s worth noting, though, that she did that in 24 games. North racked up 102 in 21 games.
The fiery attacker also set the NCAA Tournament record for goals. It only took her three games to do so, as she stockpiled 23 through the Elite Eight. When all was said and done, North exited the tourney with 31 goals to her name.
The Duke transfer delivered her most impressive accomplishment on the biggest stage. North broke Courtney Murphy’s NCAA single-season goals record in the second half of the National Championship. It was a mark (100 goals) that Murphy set with Stony Brook in 2014. North surpassed that on Sunday.
Additionally, North won four draws in the national title game, bumping her season total to 174, good for third in the country. As far as expected-goals-added goes, North was, by far, the most dominant player in college lacrosse this season.
NOTE: The winner of the Tewaaraton Award will be announced during halftime of a Premier Lacrosse League game between the Whipsnakes and Chaos on June 5 (it will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network).
Hope you enjoyed this edition of the Quick on the Draw newsletter. If you liked it or know someone who will, please share! We’ll be back soon to review the 2021 season.