On Sunday afternoon, the Boston College women’s lacrosse team hosted the Princeton Tigers at Alumni Stadium for a 2024 NCAA tournament game. BC earned a first round bye, so this was their first game of the tournament, while Princeton defeated Drexel a few days ago in the first round. The Eagles were definitely challenged in this one, but they took care of business and emerged with a 21-16 win to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Things looked promising early for Boston College after their offense got going early and the Eagles were able to take a 6-3 lead midway through the first quarter, but Princeton quickly proved that they were not about to roll over. The Tigers gained three straight possessions and scored on all three to knot things back up at 6-6, and it quickly became was clear that Princeton was a dynamic team on offense and the Boston College defense was going to have to step up to win this game.
After a few nice defensive stops to start the second quarter on both sides, the two squads continued to trade goals. BC took three separate small 1-goal leads and Princeton answered right back each time. But the Tigers weren’t ready for the onslaught that the Eagles would start in the dying seconds of the first half. BC won three straight possessions and scored in very quick succession, jumping out to a 13-9 lead in just the final 28 seconds of the first half. Runs like these are Boston College’s bread and butter thanks to the amount of scorers they have on their roster. Rachel Clark, Kayla Martello, and Emma LoPinto all had a part in the action and Princeton’s defense had no answer.
The second half then became a game of runs. BC added another three straight scores and were comfortably in control of the game with a 16-9 lead just minutes into the third quarter. But Princeton’s dynamic offense would not go away, as the Tigers won five straight draw controls and scored four times to close out the quarter, putting themselves firmly back into the game. The Eagles answered right back with yet another run of their own, stuffing Princeton to start the fourth quarter and then winning five straight draw controls themselves and scoring four times. With a commanding 20-13 lead, there wasn’t enough time left on the clock and Princeton’s last offensive push was not enough to overcome Boston College.
Belle Smith was the offensive star of the day, scoring five goals and earning 4 draw control victories, proving that she is an incredible all-around player and a huge part of Boston College’s success. Mckenna Davis’s 3 goals and 4 assists were quite impressive, too, while teammates Rachel Clark, Cassidy Weeks, Emma LoPinto, and Andrea Reynolds all rounded out the box score with three goals of their own. And of course ACC Goaltender of the Year Shea Dolce was as impressive in net as she usually is, saving 10 shots and helping to wrestle control of Princeton’s great offense.
Next up for Boston College is their quarterfinal match-up with Michigan on Thursday May 16th at Alumni Stadium. The Wolverines upset Notre Dame in their part of the bracket, so the Eagles will be facing a new opponent instead of squaring off against the Irish for the third time in 2024. Michigan is no joke, earning regular season wins this year over #10 Penn, #12 Johns Hopkins, #13 Denver, #15 Penn State, #21 USC, #24 Colorado, and losing a very close game to #1 Northwestern by one goal. Looking forward to what should be a great game!