Weeks' Game-Winner Caps Final Four Comeback Versus Maryland
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Cassidy Weeks runs anywhere from six to eight miles per game. She's part of a dying breed: the two-way midfielder. The Bayport, New York, native prioritizes her defense over her attacking efforts. And, according to Boston College head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein, Weeks is "the hardest working kid ever."
So hard working that sometimes even Walker-Weinstein underestimates Weeks' motor.
When the senior middie caused a turnover, scooped up a ground ball and successfully cleared it—despite being swarmed by three Terrapins—with under four minutes remaining in Friday night's Final Four bout against Maryland, Walker-Weinstein turned to Cassidy's twin sister, Courtney, who has been sidelined all season by injury.
"I said, does your sister need a break," Walker-Weinstein recalled postgame.
Courtney's answer: "No."
A few minutes later, Cassidy made a backside cut, caught a pass from Caitlynn Mossman, cradled at the crease's doorstep and beat Maryland goalie Emily Sterling on a 1-v-1 for the game-winning goal.
Weeks—often overshadowed by the likes of Charlotte North, Jenn Medjid and Belle Smith—was in the spotlight. At Homewood Field and nationally. Unsurprisingly, she deferred credit.
"At the end of the game I knew that anyone on our team could score," Weeks said. "Everyone was ready for the moment. I just saw the chance, the opening."
It capped a game-ending 4-0 run in front of 7,694 fans that catapulted BC past the Terrapins for a 17-16 victory and a spot in its fifth straight National Championship.
No. 3 BC (19-3) found itself down three goals with 7:13 to go. But the Eagles were up three two-thirds of the way through the second quarter. They had control of the game early on, thanks to six consecutive draw control victories to start the evening.
In addition to its 6-3 lead, BC had a 17-5 shot advantage. The only reason why No. 2 Maryland (19-2) was hanging around was because Sterling—who entered with the nation's top save percentage—made seven first-half stops.
Defense was on full display in the first quarter as the teams swapped two goals apiece. North opened the scoring gates for the Eagles, while junior attacker Libby May found the back of the net twice for the Terrapins in the first frame.
After Medjid and Maryland's Hannah Leubecker traded goals at the start of the second period, BC orchestrated a 3-0 surge that ended with back-to-back North goals. First, the reigning Tewaaraton Award winner used a split dodge before delivering a shot through Sterling's five-hole. Then she pulled off her patented step and rip from the eight-meter arc.
Before BC could create any more separation from a Maryland team that had won its previous three postseason games by a margin of 12 goals, the Terps rattled off five goals in a row and six consecutive draw control victories.
Shaylan Ahearn got comfortable in the circle, and Maryland, which ended up putting 21-of-24 shots on net, was efficient on the offensive end. Well, when it was taking care of the ball. Although the Terps came in averaging the fewest turnovers per game nationally, they committed 17 Friday—12 of which were caused.
Walker-Weinstein applauded her defense for taking "really athletic, smart risks." Both Weeks and Hollie Schleicher piled up a trio of caused turnovers. Hunter Roman chipped in a pair, too. And even goalie Rachel Hall cleaned up three ground balls.
Still, as stingy as BC could be, it didn't have an answer for Maryland down the stretch of the first half.
Ahearn turned an Aurora Cordingley pass from X into a goal. Leubecker scored the first of her two free-position goals. Shannon Smith cashed in on a May dime. Last, but not least, Eloise Clevenger used a reverse shovel shot to put the Terps ahead, 7-6, prior to intermission.
To make matters worse for BC, Maryland picked up right where it left off as Cordingley scored a goal 27 seconds into the third quarter.
From that point forward, though, the majority of the game took the shape of a back-and-forth affair. Each team scored four goals in the period, however, one of Maryland's was controversial, as a no-call crease violation afforded a Jordyn Lipkin goal.
The quarter culminated in BC answering a May goal. Martello went up to grab a Belle Smith feed near the crease and deposited it into the cage to cut the Eagles' deficit to 11-10.
Maryland made another move at the start of the fourth quarter and upped its lead to three goals on four separate occasions in the period. The Terps first did it after Clevenger fired a free-position shot into the top-right corner of the cage. They did it again, courtesy of a Grace Griffin catch-and-shoot goal. Then once more because Maryland converted a Medjid turnover into Leubecker's fifth goal of the night. And one last time when Lipkin painted the bottom-right corner with a heater.
With BC trailing, 16-13, and 7:04 remaining, Walker-Weinstein called a timeout. She told her team to ramp up the pace, and it worked.
The Eagles scored three goals in the next 3:58. North, who finished with six, strung together two in a row, even tying the game with a sidearm rip that was a byproduct of Weeks' pivotal caused turnover.
BC's defensive pressure was unrelenting down the stretch. It wasn't long before Schleicher dispossessed Leubecker, setting the stage for Weeks' game-winner with 18 ticks remaining. Then Schleicher iced the game in the circle.
"It's hard when the last goal of the game is scored with 18 seconds on the clock," Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said. "Falling short at the end hurts. We fell short to a great team."
A great team that, like Walker-Weinstein said of Weeks, has "long-term grit."
