Vol. 5: Boston College, Stony Brook on the Doorstep of Top Four
The top four spots in the Inside Lacrosse poll haven't budged in six weeks, but No. 5 BC and No. 6 Stony Brook are making a hard push with bounce-back win streaks.
Charlotte North drives toward net during BC’s 14-13 OT win over Louisville on March 26. She ended up scoring the game-winner. Photo courtesy: John Quackenbos/BC Athletics.
Boston College was run out of Chapel Hill three weeks ago. The top-ranked Tar Heels won the first four draws of the second half and scored the first seven goals of the period, turning what was a three-goal game into a lopsided top-10 matchup.
Jamie Ortega and Katie Hoeg let loose in the second half after being faceguarded in the first, and UNC pulled away for a 21-9 victory.
Still, the Eagles came closer to reaching double-digit goals than any other UNC opponent this year. That loss said more about the Tar Heels than it did about BC.
And that’s become increasingly clear.
Since the Eagles’ blowout defeat to the Tar Heels, BC has rattled off four consecutive victories, ascending to No. 5 in the process—head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein’s team was ranked 13th in the Inside Lacrosse preseason poll.
BC first bounced back with a 20-11 win over then-No. 9 and 5-0 Virginia. Tewaaraton candidate Charlotte North won 11 draws and scored seven goals, helping the Eagles stake themselves to an early lead that they never relinquished. Then BC plowed past Hofstra, 19-7, limiting the Pride’s all-time leading scorer, Alyssa Parrella, to one goal.
This weekend, the Eagles made up some lost ground in the ACC standings, sweeping a No. 15 Louisville team that had previously given UVA and Notre Dame some fits.
In the first leg of the doubleheader, Cardinals senior midfielder Sarah Blalock kept North in check, holding the Dallas, Texas, native to four shots and one goal. Unfortunately for Louisville, that lone score came at the worst time. With under two minutes to go in overtime, North wrapped around the cage, spun, jumped, and whipped a shot past Louisville goalkeeper Rachel Florek.
The dramatic game-winner was both North’s lone goal of the game and her only point of the weekend. But that didn’t matter. BC had too much firepower for the Cardinals to handle. Seven different Eagles found the back of the net on Sunday, namely junior attacker Jenn Medjid, who tied Sam Apuzzo’s single-game program record with nine goals. At one point, BC went on a 16-0 run. The Eagles ended up winning, 18-3, and are now 7-1 on the year, positioned third in the league table.
Right below them in the Inside Lacrosse poll lies Stony Brook, a program that’s rebounded from not one but two losses to marquee opponents in 2021.
The Seawolves opened the season at UNC and were greeted by the deepest attack line in the country and a defense that still, six weeks later, hasn’t given up more than nine goals in a game. Although senior midfielder Siobhan Rafferty and Tewaaraton contender Ally Kennedy pitched in hat tricks, it wasn’t enough.
Just 17 of Stony Brook’s 29 shots were on goal, and UNC converted scoring opportunities at a much higher clip, en route to a 14-7 victory.
Redshirt junior Bridget Considine attacks the Hartford cage during Stony Brook’s 19-1 win over the Hawks on March 28. Photo courtesy: Steve McLaughlin/Stony Brook Athletics.
Two weeks after that, following back-to-back Seawolves wins—including one over a ranked USC team—Stony Brook suffered another defeat, this time to No. 2 Syracuse.
The Orange got payback for last year’s loss inside the Carrier Dome and defended The Loud House, stitching together a 6-0 first-half run before polishing off a 16-6 victory in the final period of play. Once again, Stony Brook had to get back on the saddle.
But now the Seawolves are cruising.
Winners of six straight, Stony Brook is 8-2 on the year. Head coach Joe Spallina’s team is coming off its largest margin of victory in three years. The Seawolves thumped Hartford, 19-1, on Sunday. They scored 46 seconds in and led, 14-0, by halftime.
Unlike Stony Brook’s season opener, the offense is coming from every which way. Taryn Ohlmiller is third in the nation in assists. Kailyn Hart, Jaden Hampel, Bridget Considine, and Rafferty all have at least one hat trick in the last four games.
Then there’s Kennedy, who’s in the conversation for the National Player of the Year award. The graduate middie is one of three players in program history with 200 or more goals. She’s got 32 to her name this season.
Stony Brook ranks in the top 16 nationally in scoring margin. So does BC.
Both are back on track and appear very much in play for NCAA Tournament runs.
Other Notable Storylines:
1) Northwestern finally got its revenge against Maryland—and clinched a title. Don’t think the Wildcats forgot about their 2019 Final Four loss, a decisive 25-13 defeat, to eventual national champion Maryland. Behind Izzy Scane’s nine goals and three assists, No. 3 Northwestern flipped the script on Saturday. The Wildcats cruised to a 25-12 win, opening up the game in the second half when they won 14-of-17 bouts in the circle. The 25 goals were the most the Terrapins have ever allowed in a game. Northwestern reached the 20-goal barrier for the sixth time this year on Monday and outscored Maryland, 13-3, in the second period to round out the sweep. Like the previous outing, the Wildcats controlled possession, as senior middie Jill Girardi set a career high with 12 draws. A 7-7 halftime tie unraveled into a 20-10 Wildcats victory, which guaranteed at least a share of their first-ever regular season Big Ten title.
2) Ohio State snapped six-game skid with sweep of Penn State. It was a complete team effort. Nine Buckeyes scored on Friday, including Ali Beekhuizen, Nicole Ferrara and Maura McGregor—all of whom registered hat tricks. Ohio State took an 11-6 lead into intermission and held on for dear life the rest of the way. Penn State drew within one goal with under five minutes left, but the Buckeyes closed out the 15-12 victory with two late scores. Again, Penn State came close to equalizing in the second half on Sunday, actually on two different occasions. Each time, though, Ohio State padded its one-goal cushion. The Buckeyes, who won 19-of-22 draw controls, locked up the 11-9 win and weekend sweep, breathing life back into the now 3-7 program.
Senior midfielder Lindsay Epstein celebrates one of her two goals during Ohio State’s 11-9 win against No. 10 Penn State on March 28. Photo courtesy: Ohio State Athletics.
3) Navy returned after a month hiatus and maintained bragging rights. The No. 16 Midshipmen hadn’t played since Feb. 27 and looked like it, too. Navy need a three-goal run in the final 16 minutes of regulation to stave off an Army team looking for its first win over its academy rival in the programs’ brief six-game all-time series. Nicole Victory capped the comeback win for Navy, scoring what would be the game-winner with 3:46 to go. Victory (3 goals, 2 assists) and Ellie Lecker (4 goals, 1 assist) drove the Midshipmen offense, however, goalie Jo Torres might have been the hero. She made 10 second-half saves and didn’t let anything by her in the back half of the second period. Navy is 4-0 but will be tested when it hosts Patriot League favorite Loyola next week.
4) Arizona State cracked the Top 20 in a season of firsts. The Sun Devils are off to their first-ever 4-1 start to Pac-12 play after their first-ever win over Colorado. They outscored the Buffaloes, 10-5, in the second period to secure a 16-11 victory Sunday. Graduate attacker Kerri Clayton led the way with five goals. Carley Adams wasn’t far behind with four strikes. She put up identical numbers in ASU’s 18-6 win over Oregon earlier in the week. The Sun Devils ended the week with a combined 37-18 draw control advantage over their two opponents. A special season is brewing in Tempe, as ASU is currently on a program-best five game win streak and sitting pretty at 7-2.
5) Quietly, Vanderbilt is building an NCAA Tournament resume. The Commodores are riding a seven-game win streak, their second longest in program history. If you’re wondering, Vanderbilt’s record is 10 in a row. That was back in 2010, the last year the Commodores made the NCAA Tournament. They’re a perfect 4-0 in AAC play after sweeping East Carolina this weekend. In the doubleheader finale, senior Gabby Fornia broke the single-game conference record for assists with nine. She also added three goals to tie Scane for the most points (12) in a game this year. Vanderbilt’s 9-2 mark is tied for the program’s best start to a season.
Senior attacker Gabby Fornia looks to pass during Vanderbilt’s 14-12 win against East Carolina on March 28. She has 35 feeders this year. Photo courtesy: Vanderbilt Athletics.
Numbers to Know:
95.5 - clearing percentage of Stanford, tops in the country. The Cardinal is 84-for-88 on clears in five games this season.
74.1 - shot percentage of BC’s Belle Smith, the highest of all Division I players with more than two games under their belts. The freshman midfielder has netted 20 goals on 27 shots in eight 2021 outings.
5.40 - goals per game allowed by UNC, the lowest goals against average in the nation. The Tar Heels have conceded five or fewer scores in half of their games this year.
Tewaaraton Watch:
NOTE: As the season progresses, I’ll also track draw control, ground ball, and caused turnover leaders. Because of COVID-19 and the various postponements (and game totals), I’ve also broken down scoring categories in game averages. Qualifying players for the tables below must have played at least three games this season. Stats are correct through March 29.
POINTS LEADERS
POINTS PER GAME LEADERS
GOALS LEADERS
GOALS PER GAME LEADERS
Latest Inside Lacrosse Poll
NOTE: screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com (not all records fully updated).
Same old, same old up top. No. 1 North Carolina continued its dominance with an 18-3 win over Mercer, No. 2 Syracuse used a second-half surge to put away Virginia Tech, No. 3 Northwestern’s explosive offense clobbered Maryland, and No. 4 Notre Dame took down then-No. 7 Duke for its third straight win. Undefeated Stanford jumped five spots to No. 13 following two more Pac-12 victories, including a 21-4 beatdown of Cal. The week’s biggest winner was Ohio State. The Buckeyes got back in the win column for the first time in more than a month and pushed Penn State outside of the Top 10, while vaulting back into the Top 20 themselves. Arizona State nudged its way in amid the best season of its young program history, rounding out the Top 20 alongside 6-1 Richmond. Elon’s stay was short-lived, as it’s back to the receiving votes section of the poll, where it’s joined by the likes of Temple, Towson, and Vanderbilt.
What’s Ahead?
NOTE: all times listed in EST.
No. 2 Syracuse @ No. 1 UNC, April 3, 11 a.m.
No. 4 Notre Dame @ No. 7 UVA, April 3, 12 p.m.
No. 12 Loyola @ No. 17 Navy, March 31, 5 p.m.
No. 16 Drexel @ Hofstra, April 3, 4 p.m.
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