W-Lax Beats 'Cuse 7th Straight Time; Will Play In 7th Straight Title Game

Control what you can control.

It's an old adage used by coaches in every sport, but it's harder to do when Mother Nature messes with you.

BC women's lax already had to wait until 5:30 on Friday to play its NCAA semifinal game against rival Syracuse, then a lightning delay halted Northwestern and Florida in the fourth quarter of the other semifinal.

So, BC had to wait around until 7:01 to get things going. Once they did,' Playoff Shea' Dolce continued to do her thing, making 12 saves while the defense was relentless. Offensively, Rachel Clark took full advantage of her first Final Four game, scoring five goals to help lead the Eagles to a 10-7 win.

BC (19-3) will play Northwestern for the national title at noon on Sunday. It's the first time there's been a rematch of the previous year's final since 2016. It's the seventh straight national championship game for the program and it was a seventh straight win over Syracuse dating back to the 2021 national championship.

Emma LoPinto (2), McKenna Davis, Kayla Martello and Cassidy Weeks all scored as well. Davis - the leader in assists in the NCAA - had four.

"We made sure the girls stayed loose and had a little bit of fun," head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. Weinstein and the program have now gone 7-0 in NCAA semifinal games, an incredible feat.

"We made sure they got what they needed with nutrition and hydration. We just gathered them back together about 15 minutes before we were going to start to play and just reviewed the game plan again, got stable, got grounded and then just refocused.

"It was fine. It wasn't a big deal. I asked them to allow the rain delay to serve us and to help us and I think they really locked in and got focused."

With BC leading 6-4 at halftime, Dolce and Syracuse goalie Delaney Sweitzer (10 saves) traded show-stoping saves to open the second half before BC pushed it to 7-4 on a Martello twister finish on a free position opportunity.

Clark finished inside on a dish from Davis to put the Eagles up by four after a Cuse draw control and turnover, a huge theme throughout the night. Immediately after BC drew a yellow card, Dolce made her seventh save of the night from about three feet away, thwarting the woman-down situation.

Sweitzer and Dolce continued to trade remarkable saves and the Eagles' defense held the Orange scoreless for 15+ minutes for the second time in the game. BC found itself with a chance to step on the gas when Syracuse had three players in the box with 1:43 left in the third.

Stunningly, BC didn't push the issue despite being up 7-on-4, instead working the ball around and eventually allowing the Orange to kill the crucial penalties. However, Syracuse gave up an eight-meter seconds later and Clark buried it for her fourth goal, sending BC to the fourth quarter up 9-4.

With 11:51 left in the game, Syracuse broke what was now a 24:00 scoring drought to make it 9-5. Draws continued to be an issue for the Eagles (15-5 for the game) and another loss soon resulted in Emma Tyrrell's first goal, suddenly cutting it to three with 10 minutes still on the clock. With all the momentum, Emma Ward made it 9-7 about two minutes later.

Dolce's 12th save of the day with eight minutes left on a no look shovel shot from just outside the crease may have saved the game. BC had a chance to pretty much put the game away with a lengthy possession at the 4:00 mark and a Syracuse turnover with three minutes left, but the Orange got it back. BC came up with a massive stand, forcing a turnover with two minutes to go.

"I think we had an amazing defensive unit last year and I think we have an amazing defensive unit this year," Dolce said. "I think some of the messages we're sending are a little different (than last year). We have such amazing leaders back there. Sydney Scales, Becky Browndorf, Lizzie O'Neil, Hunter Roman...and then, we have freshman like Lydia Collasante who are stepping up big time. I'm in awe of her every day.

"I just think the unit we have, we play on a string and we've really carried that together from the start of the season to the end. To be in this position again, I'm so grateful for it and just so excited. I feel really good about our game."

Coming out of a timeout with 1:42 left and the ball, the Eagles just had to run out the clock. Syracuse pulled Sweitzer in favor of a field player, and nearly forced a turnover when Andrea Reynolds slipped and dropped the ball, but a phenomenal diving effort by Reynolds forced another ground ball and BC picked it up, getting another time out.

Clark put the final nail in the coffin with an empty netter as the shot clock expired, making it 10-7 with 31 seconds to go. Moments later, the team mobbed Dolce with a seventh straight championship game appearance locked up.

"Honestly, it was just such a seamless transition," Clark said when asked about being such a big part of the offense on this stage in her first season with BC. "Like Coach has said, our offensive unit is just such a team. We're so together. I really didn't feel any type of resistance from the first practice, honestly.

"I felt like I played with this group forever. Playing with McKenna and Emma and Kayla, it's just...we're a unit. We flow together, we play on a string. It's been seamless."

Syracuse scored the first goal seconds after the opening draw, but the BC defense and a big Dolce save early allowed the Eagles to settle into the game.

Just under five minutes in, LoPinto went behind the back on a great look from Belle Smith to tie the game. 'Cuse went back up 2-1 and nearly 3-1 if not for a ball hitting the post and then Dolce's helmet. Davis found LoPinto on the crease for a one-touch quick stick with 5:40 left in the quarter.

Clark gave the Eagles their first lead with a snipe into the top right corner less than a minute later. Two point blank saves by Sweitzer kept it a one-goal game after one.

BC couldn't take advantage of a two minute woman-up opportunity early in the second, but the defense continued to be stingy, with Smith forcing a Syracuse turnover that turned into a Weeks goal as she bullied her way to the net to make it 4-2. Weeks also drew another card, resulting in an automatic draw win and another two minute woman-up opportunity. Davis soon found Clark on the crease for a 5-2 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the half. Continued pressure resulted in another Syracuse turnover after a won draw, soon resulting in a laser from Davis short side that made it a four-goal game.

At 15 minutes without a goal, Syracuse earned a woman-up opportunity, but soon turned it over again. The drought finally ended at 18 minutes when the Orange cut it to 6-3 with 6:47 left in the half.

'Cuse quickly kept momentum rolling with a draw win and a goal after a one-minute green card call on Sydney Scales. Two huge door step saves by Dolce kept BC up while in the midst of its own 8:00 scoring drought. The Eagles had two golden chances to score in the final seconds, but Sweitzer kept it a 6-4 game heading into halftime.

Now, BC will try to figure out how to get over the Northwestern hump with another title on the line. The Wildcats not only blew out the Eagles in last year's championship (18-6), but beat them again during the regular season (14-11).

So, will Walker-Weinstein simply throw those games out? Or can the Eagles learn from them?

A little of both.

"It's so long ago, I think we'll utilize over the last few years to kind of harden us and get smart," she said. "But, no, we'll do what we always do. We'll study a lot of the recent film, or maybe all of the film. We'll look at what they're doing differently lately and create our game plan from probably more of the last month or so.

"But, no, we won't be talking about years past. It's already in our hearts. It's already in our heads. We'll stick to game planning."


(Full postgame press conference with Clark, Dolce & Walker-Weinstein)