No one has shut out Boston College lacrosse in a single quarter this season. Well, before Thursday. It wasn't an opponent as much as it was the cold.
Wind chill dropped temperatures to 2 degrees at No. 11 Denver, and neither undefeated team scored in the third quarter, after which the officials deemed it too cold to continue play.
Luckily for the Eagles—most of whom were wearing turquoise gloves for warmth—they had piled up seven goals in a second quarter flurry that mirrored the snow falling in Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium, establishing a four-score cushion.
As a result, No. 1 BC ended up 9-5 victors in the shortened contest.
The Eagles (7-0, 2-0 ACC) win snapped a streak of 21 straight home victories for Denver (6-1) and went down as BC's fourth ranked win of the young 2022 season.
Midfielder Kayla Martello struck first blood on a free-position shot. BC held a 7-2 advantage on free-position shots, attempting five in the second quarter alone.
But, on the first of two occasions in the opening period, the Pioneers' Kayla, Kayla DeRose, knotted things up. Like the third frame, defense dictated the first quarter. Denver played a hand in BC committing seven turnovers in the first 15 minutes of action.
The Eagles, namely Charlotte North, did their damage against the Pioneers' second-ranked scoring defense in the second quarter. BC kicked off the period by recording four consecutive goals. North netted or assisted three of them. And her two scoring strikes were free-position laser beams from the eight-meter arc.
Denver's Sammie Morton stopped the bleeding, only for Jenn Medjid and North to tack on two more goals, courtesy of feeders from Caitlynn Mossman and Mallory Hasselbeck, respectively.
Charlotte Boote and Bea Behrins drew the Pioneers within three goals of BC, however, just before the end of the half, Medjid scored an unassisted goal to make it 9-5—the final score.
The Eagles spoiled another streak four days earlier at Louisville. The Cardinals came in having won four games in a row—their most consecutive victories since 2016. They had also just registered 22 goals in a win over Butler, the fourth most in single-game program history.
BC held Louisville to 10 goals, while Belle Smith tallied a career-high eight points, piloting the Eagles to a 19-10 win, their second in ACC play this year.
Less than a minute in, Mossman found a wide-open Medjid at the crease's doorstep for the game-opening score.
But Hannah Morris answered with a pair of goals to lift the Cardinals (5-3, 1-1) to an early 2-1 lead. It was the start of a career day for Morris, who wrapped up with five scores.
BC, which won 15 ground balls and 14-of-21 draw controls in the first half, scored nine of the next 10 goals. The offensive production came from every direction for the Eagles. During their scoring frenzy, six different BC players found the back of the net, including sophomore defender Hunter Roman.
Mossman accounted for two helpers amid the surge, as did Smith, who polished off her hat trick toward the end of BC's nine-goal second quarter.
Then the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year tacked on a personal-best third assist in the early stages of the third frame, setting the stage for a Cassidy Weeks goal that put the Eagles up, 15-5.
Thanks to Haley Reeck and Morris, Louisville outscored BC in the fourth period, 3-2, but the game was well out of hand at that point.
BC ripped through its four-game road swing without a single loss. Virginia proved to be the Eagles' stiffest test, although Acacia Walker-Weinstein's group has yet to face a second-half scare.
