Vol. 7: Down Goes No. 1
Vol. 7: Down Goes No. 1
North Carolina headlined a top-five shakeup by beating top-ranked Boston College in Chestnut Hill, avenging its Final Four loss to the Eagles last year.
Notre Dame transfer Andie Aldave celebrates one of her four goals during UNC’s 16-15 win over BC on March 20. Photo courtesy: UNC Athletics.
Brooklyn Walker-Welch was exposed in the first quarter of Sunday’s 1-2 showdown at Boston College. The freshman UNC defender bit on a Kayla Martello hesitation move and was off balance as Martello dodged past her before whipping a shot past Tar Heels goalie Taylor Moreno.
Walker-Welch, however, was in the right place at the right time when it mattered most.
Riding a 6-1 fourth quarter run, BC superstar Charlotte North had the ball with under 30 seconds to go. The reigning Tewaaraton Award winner eyed Emma Trenchard from X. Then she made her move. North gained a step on the fifth-year UNC defender with a twitchy stop and go. Before she could get a shot off, though, she was met by Walker-Welch.
The help defense was enough to cause North to lose possession, and the Tar Heels—who rank tied for eighth nationally in goals allowed per game—held on for the win in front of 5,937 fans in Alumni Stadium, where BC hosts football games.
UNC and BC have now split their last eight meetings. To put that in perspective, the Tar Heels won 15 of the teams’ first 17 bouts. As the Eagles have emerged as an ACC—and national—heavyweight the last five years, a rivalry has sprouted with UNC.
That rivalry has seen the Tar Heels beat BC in back-to-back ACC Championships (2018 and 2019) and the Eagles defeat UNC in back-to-back Final Fours (2019 and 2021).
The programs squaring off in March was a treat for everyone involved. It provided a May atmosphere for ESPNU as well as for the fans in attendance. But, more importantly, it gave both the Tar Heels and Eagles a good view of where they stand at this point of the season—with ample time for adjustments prior to postseason competition.
5,937 fans piled into Alumni Stadium for BC-UNC on Sunday afternoon. The teams have now split their last eight meetings. Photo courtesy: BC Athletics.
For BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein that means figuring out why the team’s shot accuracy was sub-standard (41.7% Sunday vs. 51.4% on the year). For UNC head coach Jenny Levy that means dissecting the final eight minutes of the fourth quarter when the Eagles nearly pulled off their second six-goal comeback against UNC in four years.
So, as much as Sunday felt like a postseason game, we’re well aware that it was just the undercard for what seems like an inevitable reunion in the ACC or, better yet, NCAA Tournament.
But it set the stage for an exciting back half of the 2022 campaign. Because, finally, there’s movement atop the Inside Lacrosse Top 25. Not only is UNC the new No. 1, but every team ranked in last week’s Top Five moved at least one spot.
Other Storylines to Know:
1. Maryland, Northwestern move up to No. 3 and No. 4 with wins. With UNC-BC dominating headlines around the sport, the Big Ten had another sneaky good week. Earlier in the month, we led our issue talking about the resurgence of the conference, and the No. 3 Maryland Terrapins and the No. 4 Northwestern Wildcats have done nothing but win since.
Maryland is 4-0 this month with wins over Delaware, William & Mary, Villanova and then-No. 12 Rutgers. The Terrapins won those games by an average of 11.75 goals, the closest being a 16-6 drubbing of the Scarlet Knights. Aurora Cordingly, a graduate transfer attacker from Johns Hopkins, has been sensational. She leads the team in goals (30), assists (21) and points (51). Goalie Emily Sterling has a 7.24 goals against average and a .537 save percentage, both good for second in conference behind Michigan’s Arielle Weissman (minimum five starts).
Maryland grad transfer Aurora Cordingly surveys the field in a 19-7 win over Villanova on March 13. Photo courtesy: Maryland Athletics.
Out in Evanston, Northwestern is 4-1 this month, with its only loss coming to No. 1 UNC on March 6, 20-9. In March, the Wildcats have defeated No. 5 Syracuse, No. 6 Stony Brook, Ohio State and Dartmouth. Kudos to Kelly Amonte-Hiller’s team for braving a brutal non-conference schedule, in which the Wildcats played five ranked teams—including four of the top-six—and coming out with a 7-2 record. Graduate attacker Lauren Gilbert leads the conference in goals (37) but is two points behind Maryland’s Cordingly with 49. Right now, it seems like one of those two will be Big Ten Player of the Year.
Next up, Maryland hosts Penn, and Northwestern travels to No. 12 Michigan. Unfortunately, we have to wait until April 23 before the Terrapins and Wildcats square off.
2. No. 24 Stanford edges USC in overtime for its fourth straight win. The Cardinal started the year 1-4. That’s some hole, especially when you play in a weaker power conference. But Stanford hasn’t thrown in the towel. And, as of Sunday, they’re the frontrunners in the Pac-12. Ashley Humphrey was the hero against the now-No. 18 Women of Troy. The redshirt freshman attacker, who is second nationally in points per game (6.22), capped the back-and-forth thriller with a game-winning goal in overtime.
Humphrey finished with seven points, but Stanford’s victory wouldn’t have been possible without goalie Kara Rahaim. The junior, who has made 36 saves in her last two games, stopped 19 USC shots, including a pair in overtime.
During the Cardinal’s four-game win streak, they have averaged 18.75 goals per contest. That’s 8.15 more goals than they averaged in their first five matchups this season.
3. No. 15 James Madison returns to form with two ranked victories. One week ago, the Dukes had a 3-4 record and sat at No. 21 in the Inside Lacrosse poll, nine spots below their preseason No. 12 ranking. One of the losses was expected: a 15-8 defeat to No. 1 UNC. The other three—a 10-9 loss to then-unranked Virginia Tech, a 14-10 loss at unranked Penn State and a 12-5 home defeat versus No. 13 Rutgers—were a bit more head scratching
This week, the Dukes flipped a switch. JMU is back above .500 and boasts a 5-4 record after wins over No. 19 Richmond and No. 16 Virginia. Redshirt sophomore attacker Isabella Peterson had a monster week, scoring three goals versus the Spiders and another six against the Cavaliers. Peterson had 12 draw controls as well, proving it’s tough to beat a 6-footer in the circle. Against Richmond, JMU carried a 8-1 lead into the halftime locker room and coasted from there. Six days later against UVA, the Dukes exploded for eight goals in the first quarter, the team’s most in a frame this season. The win at UVA was just the Dukes’ second in Charlottesville since 2010. For their performance, Peterson earned CAA Player of the Week honors while redshirt junior defender Mairead Durkin earned CAA Defensive Player of the Week.
Next up, JMU takes on No. 3 Maryland in College Park on Saturday.
Isabella Peterson celebrates one of her three goals versus No. 19 Richmond. Peterson has 30 goals, six assists and 41 draw controls on the season. Photo courtesy: JMU Athletics.
4. St. Bonaventure and No. 12 Michigan both emerge victorious in double overtime. Something had to give for the Bonnies. They were 0-5 heading into a Sunday afternoon game at 1-6 Detroit Mercy. And, even though it took two extra frames, St. Bonaventure etched its name into the win column, thanks to a Sarah Owens game-winner. With one second left in double overtime. And it was the byproduct of a Detroit Mercy turnover and Abby Hiltz assist. Not a bad way to carry a semblance of momentum into A-10 play for the Bonnies.
There was a lot more at stake for Michigan, which is in the midst of a breakthrough season. The Wolverines bounced back from their first loss of the year—a 9-8 defeat to No. 9 Denver—with a 9-7 win over No. 20 Johns Hopkins. But, on Saturday afternoon, Michigan was in danger of being upset by a 3-6 Villanova team. At one point, the Wildcats had a 5-1 lead in the third quarter. Michigan closed the frame on a 4-1 run and, in the final period of regulation, Caitlin Muir tied the game at 7-7. Neither team scored for the next 22 minutes. A woman-up opportunity was the catalyst for Caroline Bean’s game-winner, which pushed the Wolverines to 9-1 on the year.
Four of Michigan’s 10 games this season have been decided by two or fewer goals. Its upcoming game with No. 4 Northwestern could see a similar result.
Weekly Focus:
STANDOUT FRESHMEN…
The Tewaaraton is usually won by upperclassmen, but there are several sophomores and even freshmen who play their way into the conversation.
Approaching April, it’s time to examine which players are on the rise in the sport and are turning heads, less than a season into their collegiate careers.
Natalie Calandra-Ryan (Attacker, Youngstown State) – If you were really paying attention last week, you’ll know that Calandra-Ryan was featured in the “Numbers to Know” section for her seven caused turnovers against Winthrop. Well, she’s putting up arguably the best freshman season in the country. She is first among freshmen in points per game (5.00) and caused turnovers (18) and is second in freshmen goals (32) and draw controls per game (5.33). Talk about making an entrance!
Rachel Clark (Midfielder, UVA) – While Calandra-Ryan is putting up a monster season, only UVA’s Rachel Clark can say she’s scored more than the Youngstown State star. Clark has 39 goals this year, highlighted by six goals in the opener at Elon. Clark has scored four goals in each of her last three games versus No. 5 Syracuse, Pittsburgh and No. 15 JMU. Clark grew up in Devon, Pennsylvania, and was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse High School All-American.
Emma LoPinto (Attacker, Florida) – The freshman from Manhasset, New York, leads the Gators in assists (14) and is second in points (32). She is third nationally in assists by a freshman and had five helpers in a win over Liberty. LoPinto has tallied six or more points in a game three times this season.
Mia Judd (Defender, Stetson) – Judd has started every game this season for Stetson and has tallied 14 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers. She ranks second in the country in caused turnovers per game by a freshman (1.75) and trails only Youngstown State’s Calandra-Ryan (2.00).
Clare McCooe (Defender, Manhattan) – McCooe not only has one of the coolest names in the sport, but she also leads the country in draw controls per game by a freshman (7.00). She tallied 13 draws in a win over Central Connecticut and another 12 in a win over Wagner. McCooe hails from Ridgewood, New Jersey, and was named Ridgewood High School’s defensive MVP last season.
Emelia Bohi (Goalie, Denver) – Perhaps the hardest position to excel at freshman year is goalie. The speed of the game and the level of competition can make even the most highly-recruited netminders stumble. Emelia Bohi of Denver, though, could not have made the transition look any easier. Bohi is second nationally in goals against average at 7.16 and is the only freshman in the top-12. Ashley Bowan of Penn State is the only other freshman with a GAA below 10 (9.54), and she still trails Bohi by more than two goals a game. Bohi has made eight starts and has only allowed more than six goals three times. She has not conceded more than nine goals in a game all season.
Freshman Denver goalie Emelia Bohi sets up to make a save during a 19-9 win over Louisville on Feb. 13. Photo courtesy: Denver Athletics.
Numbers to Know:
0.639 – the free-position percentage of the Loyola Greyhounds and the best mark in the country. They are one of just three teams converting at least 60% of free-position attempts, along with Sacred Heart (0.609) and Temple (0.600). Graduate attacker Livy Rosenzweig leads the team in free-position goals with six.
18 – the number of saves Dartmouth’s freshman goalie Gisele Todd made in a 18-8 loss to No. 4 Northwestern. Todd played the entire game and boosted her season save percentage to 0.491. She is second in the Ivy League in save percentage behind only Krissy Kowalski of Penn (0.542).
2 – the number of nine-goal games Kennesaw State graduate midfielder Siena Gore has this season. We noted when Gore scored nine goals against Butler back on March 12, and she did it again this past week against Presbyterian. Gore leads the country in goals with 53. BC’s Charlotte North is second with 45.
Kennesaw State graduate midfielder Siena Gore makes a move to the cage against Winthrop on Feb. 24. Photo courtesy: Kyle Hess/KSU Athletics.
Tewaaraton Watch:
POINTS PER GAME LEADERS
GOALS PER GAME LEADERS
NOTE: Stats correct through March 22.
Inside Lacrosse Poll
Screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com.
We talked about it earlier. But the Top Five got thrown in a blender this weekend. BC, which has occupied the No. 1 spot all year, moved down to No. 2. UNC, on the other hand, took the Eagles’ place. Maryland and Northwestern inched up to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. The Terrapins smacked an undefeated Rutgers team, and the Wildcats posted decisive victories over Ohio State and Dartmouth. Then there’s Syracuse, which slid two spots, from No. 3 to No. 5, after falling to a Florida team that had previously struggled against the nation’s elite this year.
Riding a two-game win streak and back to .500 on the season, the Gators hopped from No. 13 to No. 11. JMU was a big winner this week, climbing from No. 21 to No. 15 with in-state (and ranked) victories over Richmond and UVA. No team had a better week than Stanford. Not only are they now first in the Pac-12 standings, but the Cardinal are the lone newcomer to the Inside Lacrosse Top 25. The one team to get the boot was Colorado, which has lost two of its last three games.
What’s Ahead?
No. 10 Princeton @ No. 7 Loyola, March 23, 7 p.m.
No. 9 Denver @ Drexel, March 25, 3 p.m.
No. 24 Stanford @ Colorado, March 25, 6 p.m.
No. 15 JMU @ No. 3 Maryland, March 26, 12 p.m.
No. 4 Northwestern @ No. 12 Michigan, March 26, 12 p.m.
No. 8 Duke @ No. 14 Notre Dame, March 27, 1 p.m.
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 next week for more coverage.