After Back-and-Forth First Half, BC Distances Itself From No. 13 UVA
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)
Publisher
Aubrey Williams was having her way with Charlotte North in the circle. Freshman middie Rachel Clark was stealing the spotlight offensively.
Virginia made Boston College lacrosse look beatable for the first time this season.
That is, for one half.
Similar to the Eagles’ season-opening win over then-No. 4 Northwestern, they exploded in the second half Wednesday. This time, they made their move in the third quarter, during which they outscored the Cavaliers—who led, 10-9, at the break—6-1.
North reclaimed BC’s lead with her patented free-position laser, the Eagles won 7-of-10 ground balls and UVA committed six turnovers in the frame. From there, BC didn’t look back and cruised to a 22-15 victory, its first in ACC play.
The No. 1 Eagles (4-0, 1-0 ACC) stormed out to a 3-0 lead in Charlottesville. BC converted 5-of-6 free-position shots. That started with sophomore middie Kayla Martello, who struck first blood.
Then the first of four Jenn Medjid goals was followed up by a Hollie Schleicher draw control win as well as a Belle Smith split dodge and feed to Cassidy Weeks for BC’s third score in span of three minutes and 10 seconds.
No. 13 UVA (2-3, 0-1), which finished with a 27-14 advantage in the circle, won eight of the final nine draws of the opening quarter. That was the catalyst for a 6-2 run to end the period, including four straight goals that handed the Cavaliers their first lead of the game.
The scoring surge was piloted by a pair of UVA midfielders: Clark and senior Courtlynne Caskin. Caskin scored or assisted on the first three goals. Clark put the Cavaliers up, 4-3, with a top-right corner snipe.
It was a rough day in cage for Rachel Hall, who posted a meager .211 save percentage in the win. But one of her four saves started the break for the Eagles, who found their best playmaker, North, for the equalizer. The graduate attacker snuck an underhand roller past ECU transfer Ashley Vernon.
As the first quarter ended, and the second quarter began, BC and UVA traded four goals. Eventually, though, the Cavaliers created a bit of separation. Morgan Schwab reset from X after a high Kate Miller shot and found a cutting Ashlyn McGovern at the crease’s doorstep for goal.
All it took was 16 seconds for UVA to strike again, thanks to another Williams draw. Caskin pushed the ball up to McGovern, who fired a shot past Hall for her second goal in a row, extending the Cavaliers’ lead to 10-8.
Trying to right the ship, BC head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein turned to Smith in the circle. But the Eagles wouldn’t score again until the final minute of regulation. Smith’s shot rung off the post, Weeks scooped up the ground ball near the restraining line, and, soon after, Medjid was fouled at the edge of the crease.
From the eight-meter mark, Medjid sprinted toward the net, stopped in her tracks, dipped around a Cavaliers defender and went low, far post to cut BC’s deficit to one before halftime.
The Eagles rewrote the narrative in the second half. Caitlyn Mossman got the ball rolling following a Courtney Taylor draw control. Mossman rounded out the day with six points, including a career-high five goals.
North’s free-position missile restored BC’s lead. Clark countered with a free-position goal of her own, but Mossman polished off her hat trick quickly thereafter.
Whether it was an errant pass from Caskin—who ended up leaving the game with injury in the third quarter—or a mishandled McGovern reception, the turnovers started to mount for UVA.
And BC defenders Hunter Roman and Sydney Scales did a great job spearheading the fastbreak. With under six minutes to go in the frame, one of those transition opportunities ended with Medjid faking a pass and going left while driving for a point-blank shot.
Vernon was replaced by freshman Abby Jansen in net after two more goals, notably right after North scored on a wraparound.
Clark kicked off the fourth quarter with a goal to make it a 15-12 game. But then BC went back on the break. Scales caused an Annie Dyson turnover, scooped up the ground ball and pushed it upfield. Martello detected an open Medjid, who scored to restore the Eagles’ four-goal advantage.
That ballooned to as many as nine goals in the final frame. Even though UVA was still dominating on the draw, it didn’t matter because BC continued to pile up what ultimately became 12 caused turnovers. Not only that, but when the Cavaliers got shots off, they weren’t always accurate. In fact, just 19 of their 32 shots were on goal.
Jansen made a couple nice saves in the waning minutes, and UVA scored the final two goals—one from Clark and one from Miller.
But, for the Cavaliers, the game went as their season has so far: a strong start followed by hiccups. Once 2-0, UVA has lost three straight, granted those defeats have come against a trio of NCAA Tournament-bound teams.
BC could be much more than that. Right now, the Eagles look like a team that could repeat.
