The defending national champs have a chance to repeat about 40 minutes from home this weekend when all eyes of the lacrosse world are on Foxborough.
Both the men's and women's Final Four matchups are in the same place for just the second time ever. Both of them have been Gillette Stadium.
BC takes on Northwestern at 5:30 on Friday in the second semifinal after UNC and Florida battle at 2:30. The title game is set for Sunday at noon.
Just getting here for a remarkable eighth straight season is one thing, but going back-to-back and bringing home a third would elevate the program's legacy to a whole new level.
Each of the four head coaches met the media via Zoom on Monday. here's everything Walker-Weinstein had to say:
On the weekend in general
"Very excited for the week and for Friday. It's obviously a privilege to be a part of such a great experience and be competing at the highest level at the end of May. We feel very privileged as well to be playing in Gillette, where I think there's going to be tons and tons of people there. It's exciting to be able to play in front of a lot of people and help grow the game, help with exposure. Hopefully we win and move on to Sunday."
On how much being at home this week helps aside from the game
"It's great. It gives us a little bit of extra time here and there to get more preparation in. Those hours we would be spending getting organized, flying, airports, all that...we'll be using for meetings and extra practice time, which is a huge advantage."
On if last year's championship game can carry over to players who didn't play much in 2024
"Yeah, I think it just adds to the experience of the program,, not necessarily any individual players. Just being able to be a part of a comeback like that against such a great team, it's proof that those things are possible. It's also proof that no lead is safe and I think it just helps our girls learn lessons about game management and belief. I think the message last year just really spoke to the culture that we've tried to maintain this year, that you're never out of the fight and anything is possible."
On if they'll take anything away from this year's game against Northwestern while preparing
"We've studied every game (coach went on to show hundreds of reels of film on her computer), I've been watching film all day. We watch every single game. We study the changes and the evolution of Northwestern and there's a lot that's difference. I'd say they're way better than they were back then. But, I always think past success or failure never determines future success or failure. We really just look at this game as an individual one. We'll allow the film that is really helpful to lead us to our game plan. We'll look at tendencies from the beginning of the year, but not schemes so much because they are so different."
On how many hours she thinks they've watched
"I'm growing more blind with how much film I've watched, me and the staff. But, it's a good tool. It doesn't lie. Film doesn't lie."
On Mia Mascone
"Oh my gosh...Mia is a championship-caliber player. She has so much intensity and raw intensity, you'd think she played in Final Fours her whole life. The moment is never too big for her, which I love, even though she hasn't had the experience. The moment's never too big for her. Nothing shifts when these big games happen. She plays just as well as she does in the lesser games. Her leadership is off the charts in these big games. She's really proven to me that she's a championship-caliber player and I'll be relying on her heavily on Friday.'
On Shea Dolce being compared to men's goalies during their Final Four
"I think that's a pretty cool compliment coming from Quint (Kessinich). I do think Shea has given us so much stability over the season and those types of players are really rare because most players have up-and-downs. Now, Shea has some games that aren't perfect, but for the most part, her consistency has been what has been - I think - the most special thing about her. We're just really lucky she's in a Boston College jersey. She makes the coaches calm. She makes her teammates calm because there's nothing better than having a constant goalie."
On Maddy Taylor and Rachel Clark (nation's leading goal scorers) going head-to-head
"Really different players, but the common denominators are that they're pure goal scorers. I mean, they're like...it's unbelievable how...just a knack for scoring through pressure, big moments, the frequency of it. But, they're very different players. I'd say the biggest thing that I think is advantageous for us is that we also have an Emma LoPinto. Nobody's talking about her. She's third in the country for goals. So, I think that's really good for Rachel, to have someone like Emma LoPinto who can carry the burden of putting the ball in the back of the net. There's a massive supporting cast. Northwestern's supporting cast is just as dangerous, obviously. But, I think having someone with those types of numbers really contributes to a little bit of equilibrium and balance on the offense."
On goal records routinely being broken and what it means for the sport
"It's so cool for the girls. The more these records get challenged, I think the more fans we're getting. I think more people are excited to watch. It's such a credit to these girls. From Maddy, to Rachel and all these other players who are constantly challenging these records, they really deserve a lot of credit because it's hard to do. These players make it look easy. It's not easy. They're really helping with the growth, the excitement and I think, viewership."
On how the neon tradition started at Gillette back in 2017
"It started back in 2017 when we were kind of a Cinderella team going to our first Final Four. I was just...we're such a program that relies so much on our families. The girls are very close with their families. The operation that we have here is very integrated with the families. I think a lot of teams separate the teams from their families, but we don't. We like the involvement because it's your mom and dad. That support system is so critical to young women's performances. So, it was really important that our girls could find their families in Gillette, well knowing that Penn State at the time, Navy and Maryland were going to come with huge crowds. I just wanted to try and counter that a little bit. So, we started this neon look - which actually started with my high school team. We did the same thing, same color, same idea - just a little bit of flare that makes it fun. We had a sea of neon and our girls could find their families and the crowd loved it. I think over time going back to eight consecutive Final Fours, the neon tradition has grown. Little girls love to wear neon. Little boys love to wear neon. I think it represents family to our girls. I think some people think we're trying to be loud and obnoxious, but really it's a symbol of our family. I think that's very empowering to our girls when they play."
