Boston College defended its ACC championship in women’s lacrosse this morning, defeating #1 seed Syracuse 15-8 to take the title again. The Eagles had defeated #2 seed Notre Dame 9-7 Friday in the semifinal.

The Eagles shut down the high-scoring Orange in the second half, allowing them only one goal while scoring eight. The score was 7-7 at the half. Syracuse had come to the championship game after beating Virginia, 19-4.

Syracuse scored the first goal of the game after only 13 seconds, led 5-1, and finished the first quarter ahead 5-3.

Senior Kayla Martello led the Eagles with six goals and one assist. Junior Emma LoPinto added three goals, with two assists, and junior McKenna Davis scored two goals, with three assists. Others scoring goals were junior Rachel Clark, senior Belle Smith, grad student Cassidy Weeks, and freshman Molly Driscoll.

Sophomore goalie Shea Dolce stopped 10 of the 18 shots on goal by Syracuse.

The Eagles (16-3) (7-2) move on to their 11th straight NCAA tournament and perhaps their seventh straight Final Four.

#1 Northwestern, winners of 20 straight after a one-goal opening-season loss to Syracuse, dominated Boston College today in an 18-6 victory to take the NCAA women’s lacrosse title.

The Eagles never led in the game. After three Wildcat goals in the first quarter, BC cut the lead to 3-2 and that was the closest they got. Northwestern led 6-2 at halftime and then exploded to a six-goal lead in the third quarter and entered the final quarter leading 11-4.

In the tournament, BC used the fourth quarter either to catch up to teams or pull ahead for victories. Not to be today. Northwestern finished strong, outscoring the Eagles 7-2 in the final period. (Need to mention, though, that the final Wildcat goal as the horn sounded to end the game seemed more than a little tacky. They had an 11-goal lead!)

Kayla Martello scored three goals in the game, with Belle Smith adding two, and Jenn Medjid one.

The Eagles ended the season with a 19-4 record. This was their sixth consecutive championship game (the 2020 season was canceled because of Covid) and their fifth loss. BC won the national championship in 2021. Go Eagles!

Sorry about the moiré pattern. TV screen shot.

After trailing for most of the game, BC women’s lacrosse turned it on again in the fourth quarter to score three unanswered goals and defeat Syracuse, 8-7, this afternoon. The Eagles will play in their sixth consecutive national championship game, meeting #1 Northwestern Sunday at 9 am PT on ESPNU.

Kayla Martello scored the winning goal, putting BC ahead for the first time, with 3:31 left in the game. Jenn Medjid led the team with five goals, including two early in the fourth quarter to tie the game and set up Martello’s winning score. #3-seed BC held #2-seed Syracuse scoreless in the fourth quarter.

Syracuse scored twice within the first 95 seconds and took a 3-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, but the the Eagles came back to tie it 4-4 at halftime. Syracuse went up 6-4 early in the second half and led 7-5 entering the final quarter.

Early in the season, on February 19, BC and Northwestern met in Illinois. Then-#5 Northwestern beat the Eagles 15-14 to give BC its first loss. The Wildcats are 20-1 this season, with their only loss to Syracuse in the season opener. BC enters the championship game with a 19-3 record, and a 13-game win streak.