Since March, head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein and her team never minced words when talking about where they expected to be on Memorial Day weekend.

A national championship has always been the goal and openly talked about from the very first practice inside Fish Field House. On Sunday in rainy Cary, NC, the third-seeded Eagles had that chance against top-seeded Northwestern.

Unfortunately for BC, their worst game of the season came at the worst possible time. The Wildcats dominated in draws (17-8), outshot BC (42-17, 25-9 on goal) and the Eagles committed 21 turnovers, allowing Northwestern to waltz to an 18-6 win.

Another remarkable season for BC ends at 19-4 after a 13-game winning streak ends in the final game. BC has won just the single title (2021) despite six straight championship game appearances (2017-2023). This championship is the first for Northwestern since 2012.

"Northwestern just played a really aggressive defense," Walker-Weinstein said. "They had a really great day. You have to give them a ton of credit for that style of defense. It was tough to combat that. Our girls did the best they could. I'm proud of our team, but I think Northwestern had a really great defensive day."

Six turnovers combined with two Madison Taylor free position goals put BC in an early hole. Northwestern goalie Molly LaLiberty came up big early on too, robbing Belle Smith on a free position of her own and Cassidy Weeks on a rocket in transition. The defense answered with several stops to keep it a two-goal game, but with under two minutes to go, Smith hit the outside of the net on another free position and the Wildcats quickly made it 3-0 in the final minute. Shea Dolce made an important sliding save in the closing seconds to keep it at three following a Walker-Weinstein timeout.

"We need to take care of the ball..handle the pressure, we talked about it. We prepared for it," Walker-Weinstein told ESPN prior to the second quarter.

A seventh turnover in the first three minutes of the second quarter for each team spoke to just how miserable conditions were. Kayla Martello finally got BC on the board with 10:13 left in the half, grabbing a deflected ball out of mid-air, taking two strides and letting one rip. Just 40 seconds later, McKenna Davis hit Jenn Medjid with a pass and Medjid found Smith for a pretty quick-stick, cutting to it one.

Hunter Roman drew a yellow card on a check with 7:56 on the clock, but two pipes and a Dolce save appeared to kill it off. That was until another turnover led to a transition goal with the penalty time ticking down and a Wildcats' 4-2 lead. After trading turnovers again, Scane - the country's top scorer - buried a goal inside to push the lead to three with under four minutes to go.

Jenn Medjid couldn't get her hands free on an eight-meter chance with 1:30 to go and Northwestern took a timeout before potting the ball in Scane's stick and letting her go 1-on-1. The probably Tweaararton Trophy winner got to the net and buried a shot to make it 6-2. The Eagles finished with nine shots and 12 turnovers in the opening 30 minutes.

"It's been a dream come true," Medjid said while holding back tears postgame. "I'm not sure I have the right words for it for right now, but hopefully I'll find them some day. i just want to thank Acacia. All I ever wanted to be was a BC lacrosse player and she gave me so much more than that. I know I'll look back at this and smile for the rest of my life. Just very grateful."

"Sports are tough. You don't always get to end your season with a win," added Walker-Weinstein. "I'm proud of the program and everyone who helped us get here, especially the players and the leadership like Jenn and all the seniors who give their life to this sport and to the program...I just hope they know that the legacy is everything with the program is better now. They've left the program in a way better place despite the loss."

It didn't take long for Northwestern to make it a 7-2 game as Taylor got her hat trick just 48 seconds into the third. Emerson Bohlig broke a defender's ankles and scored 1-on-1 with Dolce moments later to make it 8-2. Martello was finally able to break the drought with 8:40 left in the third on a nice cut and finish on a feed from Davis. BC forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing possession, turned it over, got the ball back and quickly turned it over again in a brutal sequence. Taylor made it hurt, putting Northwestern back up 9-3.

With draws being a big issue no matter who took them for the Eagles (NW won 12 straight from the second quarter through the fourth), Walker-Weinstein called for an unsuccessful stick check on defender Allie Berkery in hopes of gaining an extra possession. The Wildcats answered with a goal seconds later to make it 10-3. Things continued to unravel as NW drew a yellow card and Scane cashed in to make it an eight-goal game with 3:46 left in the quarter. Belle Smith bullied her way inside in the final minute and put one in off the head of Laliberty for a little bit of life heading to the fourth.

That tiny bit of momentum quickly went away when Dolce committed a foul and had to step out of the cage for the FP attempt, leading to n easy ENG for Erin Coykendall that made it 12-4. Things only went from bad to worse around the 11-minute mark when BC got its fourth yellow card, meaning the two-minute penalty was locked in. It was also Hunter Roman's second, which meant she was out of the game.

Scane continued to put on a show with a steal and diving goal during a clearing attempt, scoring for the 99th time this season. Another yellow card came following the play, putting BC down two players for 1:27, with both locked in. A big Dolce save led to Medjid's first goal with 9:35 to go after Shea Baker found her in transition.

Just as the calls were expiring, Northwestern added another with under seven minutes to play. Another one moments later made it 15-5 and implemented running time in the universal sign of a blowout. Northwestern scored again before Martello added another with 3:21 left. One final long range goal for the Wildcats officially iced it with a minute to go.

Despite another heartbreaking ending in the championship game, not only did young players like Dolce get invaluable championship experience this year, and make history with an ACC title but the culture is firmly in place. Sure, BC is losing a lot offensively, but this program has shown an incredible ability to reload.

Don't be surprised if we're talking about a seventh straight Final Four appearance a year from now.

"The young kids getting experience is great. It's a testament to how talented they are currently and I think it'll help in the years to come," added Walker-Weinstein. "The expectations on this team are to win it all, but I'm also really proud. We did some things the program has never done before. I think we moved it forward, which is greta for Boston College lacrosse and Boston College.

"The ultimate goal really, is to spend time with really good people and support the people that are playing for us so that they can go be incredible people in the world and great siblings and daughters and wives and business owners. That's ultimately what we want. So, although we didn't achieve the national championship, I know we achieved these other things."