Scene from today’s championship (Julia Nikhinson/The Diamondback)

One team only has played in each of the last three NCAA women’s lacrosse championship games and, sadly for Boston College team members and fans, the Eagles have been defeated in each one. Today, #1 Maryland beat #2 BC, 12-10, to take the national crown.

The Eagles finished 22-2 this season, with their only losses coming in the ACC and national championships.

Maryland led at halftime, 8-4. The Eagles came within two of the Terps at 12-10 with 3:50 remaining in the game on Kenzie Kent’s fifth goal of the game, but the Maryland defense kept the lead through the end of the game.

Kent added an assist for six points for the game. Sam Apuzzo had three goals and four points, while Dempsey Arsenault and Cara Urbank each scored a goal.

The women’s lacrosse’s team performances over the last few years brings to mind the three consecutive appearances by the BC men’s hockey team in the national tournament Frozen Four, 1998-2000, and failing to win a championship. It was the next year that the Eagles broke through to win their first national title since 1949.

Maryland and BC have met in each of the last three final fours. The Terps beat BC in the 2017 national title game, 16-13, and the Eagles defeated Maryland, 15-13, in last year’s semifinals. 

Having dropped her stick following a goal, as required, BC’s Sam Apuzzo (2) turns to celebrate with teammate Kenzie Kent (4). BC Athletics photo.

BC’s lacrosse team defeated Princeton, 17-12, today on the Newton Campus Fields to advance to the Final Four of the NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Tournament. It will be the third consecutive appearance by the Eagles in the tournament semifinals. Indeed, BC has played in each of the last two championship games, losing both. 

The Eagles will play North Carolina Friday, May 24, in Baltimore, Md., in the semifinals. The Tarheels are the only team to have beaten BC (21-1) this season, defeating the Eagles, 15-13, in the ACC Championship game on April 28.

The Eagles held a 7-6 lead over Princeton at the end of the first half. The Tigers tied the game at 7 early in the second half, but BC scored 5 straight goals to open a 12-7 lead. The teams then exchanged goals, but Princeton was unable to get closer than 4, with the final score a 5-goal margin.

BC’s Sam Apuzzo, last year’s winner of the Tewaaraton Award as the nation’s top collegiate women’s lacrosse player, led the Eagles today with 4 goals, but Kenzie Kent, MVP of the 2017 national championship tournament, had 8 points total, including 6 assists. The number of assists tied Kent’s own tournament record, set against Colorado in the previous round.

San Diego Eagles had hoped to hold a game watch of the national championship game if BC won Friday, but the game time makes it implausible. The national championship game is scheduled for Sunday, May 26, at 9 am Pacific Time, and will be telecast on ESPNU.