On Sunday afternoon, two rivals met once again when the Boston College Eagles and the North Carolina Tarheels met in the women’s lacrosse ACC Championship game. UNC is ranked #1 in the country and have an undefeated record, while BC is #2 with their only loss coming to UNC in the regular season by just one goal. It was another close defensive slugfest today in Charlotte, with UNC once again coming out on top, defeating the Eagles 14-12.
The two teams went back-and-forth all game, with nobody holding a lead of more than two goals at any point in the contest. Mia Mascone was the early impact Eagle, scoring BC’s first two goals of the game and creating early offense despite the Tarheels coming out of the gates swinging. UNC won 7 of 11 draw controls in the first quarter and controlled the pace of the game early trying to slow things down, but the BC defense held strong and the Eagles went shot for shot with their opponents. Things picked up a bit in the second quarter and two late BC goals by Mascone and Mckenna Davis helped pull BC into a 7-7 tie at halftime.
The game got slowed way back down in the third quarter, with both teams milking the shot clock and barely an inch being given on defense on either end. The Eagles finally broke things open with two quick goals at the start of the fourth quarter, but it was UNC’s answer that defined the game. The Tarheels, down 11-9 with ten minutes left in the game, ripped off four straight goals to take a 13-11 lead with less than four minutes remaining. North Carolina dominated the draw controls in the fourth quarter, 8-2, and the BC defense struggled to get stops. A late goal by Molly Driscoll gave BC a last gasp of hope, but it wasn’t enough as UNC eventually claimed the 14-12 win.
The NCAA Tournament begins on May 9, followed by the Final Four at Gillette Stadium on May 23rd and 25th.