BC Lacrosse is the #2 national seed entering the NCAA Tournament. The Eagles are hosting an initial round of the tournament on the Newton Campus and will meet the winner of Dartmouth/Colorado on Sunday, May 12.
The Eagles (19-1) suffered their first loss of the season on April 28 when North Carolina defeated BC, 15-13, in the ACC Championship game.
#1 seed for the tournament is Maryland, which also suffered its first defeat of the season when it lost to Northwestern in the Big 10 Tournament championship game.
The San Diego Chapter will hold a gamewatch if the Eagles advance to the national championship game for the third year in a row. The game is scheduled for May 26.
In one of their strongest performances of the season, the Eagles defeated Miami, 27-14, in a nationally televised game last Friday. BC was especially dominant in the first quarter, gaining 209 yards to the Hurricanes’s 74 yards, and jumping out to a 14-7 lead. A 17-14 BC halftime lead seemed much too close considering the action on the field, but the Eagles added 10 more points in the second half and shut out Miami.
(Sorry for the delay in getting this report online. I was in Boston to attend the game and then visited my daughter and son-in-law in Buckeye Country [Columbus, Ohio], returning yesterday. A personal video below in this post shows some of the pregame and game ambience.)
AJ Dillon. Ben Solomon photo
Following a Miami five-play possession at the start, BC scored on its opening drive for the sixth game this season, going 88 yards on 10 plays, displaying an offensive play variety not often seen. Running back AJ Dillon, though, started it off in the traditional way — a 25-yard run. BC also ran something of a “Philly special,” with WR Jeff Smith taking a handoff from QB Anthony Brown and then passing to Brown for 27 yards. The same pair returned to their traditional roles for the nine-yard touchdown.
Following a 62-yard kickoff return, Miami tied the score in a six-play drive. BC, against the then-#2-ranked defense, went right back down the field, scoring after 10 plays and 77 yards, to take a 14-7 lead. Smith once again showed the talents of an ex-quarterback by completing a 32-yard pass to RB Travis Levy.
BC used up over seven minutes in a 20-play, 79-yard drive that ended in a Colton Lichtenberg 21-yard field goal, to go up 17-7. BC’s special teams again faltered, however, as the Hurricanes returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards to set up a 10-play drive to close to 17-14 at the half.
Two BC pass interceptions, both leading to Eagle touchdowns, and an overall stout defense spelled the difference in the game in the second half. BC, however, also pulled off the pedal offensively in the second half, seemingly continually running into the center of the Miami defense. The tactic of running the clock ultimately was successful, but fan displeasure was evident . . . until the game’s conclusion, when students rushed the field to celebrate.
Personally, and as an old Eagle, I was a little surprised and a little disappointed in the postgame activity. This was an important win, but not really a major one. Martin Jarmond, BC athletic director, had taken several steps to make the game experience more “exciting.” To get students, and others, into the stands on time, he reduced the cost of refreshments in the stadium by half in the first quarter. New LED lights created something of a light show and “fireworks” soared up from the western rim of the stadium somewhat frequently.
When the game ended, BC students, if not encouraged, were not discouraged from rushing onto the field. The scene, accompanied by an LED light show, was clearly very positive for the national television audience. Even more positive for BC, perhaps, were the postgame comments by the game announcers, essentially promoting the values expressed by BC in this “red bandana” game, honoring the sacrifice of 9/11 hero Welles Crowther ’99.
Here is a very short video of the pregame ambience (including views of the new Plex under construction) and postgame celebration. The band in the video, Unit One, is made up of BC seniors Rachel Moon on guitar and vocals, Nicolas Sucre on bass, and Josh Mentzer on drums.
Dillon ran for 149 yards, making it the 11th game the sophomore has gained 100+ yards. BC is 9-2 overall when he exceeds the century mark. Brown was 15 of 28 for 152 yards, with 1 TD and 1 interception. Smith was 2 of 2 passing and also caught 2 passes, 1 for a touchdown.
The Eagles edged into the top 25 following the victory, but it seems the College Football Playoff committee was more impressed. It put BC at #22 in the first CFP poll of the season, first appearance ever in this poll by the Eagles. BC plays Virginia Tech Saturday in Blacksburg, Va., not usually a friendly place for the Eagles.
Here are video highlights of the game.
Saturday permits lunch at gamewatch — our first midday game. Come join San Diego Eagles!
For some, it was a reminder of a heated and competitive rivalry of storied dimensions. For others, it was a game against an opponent who had very little chance of success. BC’s 62-14 win over Holy Cross yesterday was both.
BC and Holy Cross had played football against each other 82 times before, for both more than any other team. Before yesterday, however, the last game had been in 1986. An increase in the number of athletic scholarships permitted at Holy Cross and other members of the Patriot League allowed the teams to meet, and they will play again in 2020.
WR Ben Glines and coach celebrate TD by Glines. BC photo
The Eagles received the opening kickoff and, on the first play, AJ Dillon ran 54 yards to the Holy Cross 22. Three plays later, Dillon ran 7 yards for the touchdown. BC’s second “drive” consisted of a 74-yard touchdown run by Dillon. After a 3-and-out by the Crusaders, BC had a 3rd touchdown drive, capped by Dillon’s 7-yard run. In effect, the game had been decided.
On those first 3 drives, Dillon had rushed 6 times for 149 yards and 3 touchdowns. He rested thereafter. Starting quarterback Anthony Brown was 2-for-2 for 43 yards and, after coming in for one more series in the 2nd quarter, rested thereafter.
Backup quarterbacks EJ Perry and Matt McDonald (of Newport Beach, Calif.) each threw 2 touchdown passes during the remainder of the game. Freshman running back David Bailey had 11 carries for 80 yards, backing up Dillon.
The Eagles had 610 yards total offense to Holy Cross’s 263 yards.
Late in the 3rd quarter, Holy Cross blocked a BC punt and returned it for a touchdown. They repeated the block and score in the 4th quarter. Here are video highlights.
We had invited members of the Holy Cross Club of San Diego to join us for the gamewatch. And that they did, outnumbering the Eagles in attendance! They also went way back, as members of the Holy Cross classes of 1957 and 1966 (back when it was a rivalry) were among the Crusaders.
Too much purple!
We look forward to more joint activities with local Crusaders.
Next game is Thursday at 4:30 pm. Eagles start conference play.
