Northwestern vs Boston College re-match, the game all lacrosse fans have been waiting for.
After last season’s heartbreaking loss to the Northwestern Wildcats in the NCAA Championship game, many BC fans thought the 5-0 Eagles would take home the redemption win in this regular season match-up. The Cats went into the game with a 3-1 record. A hard loss to a tough and gritty Notre Dame team put their 27-game win streak to rest a week prior. Missed passes, sloppy transitions, and wide shots were what dragged down the Cats, but just like always they came back ready to fight. In a snowy afternoon game vs Colorado, the Cats put up 19 goals to their 14. A sweet victory that got them ready for the BC match-up.
BC was riding the success of their season by allowing only 8 goals in their previous 4 games. With 1,528 fans in attendance, they were ready to put on a show. Or so we thought.
In the 1st quarter, Northwestern threw down 7 goals while BC only had 2. The Cats run a “zone” defense while the Eagles run a “man-on-man”. You beat a zone by passing, but BC couldn’t seem to make enough space to make clean passes. The Cats had 5 caused turnovers in the 1st. Their defense was on fire. On BC’s defensive end, their team struggled. Northwestern’s offense works great against a “man-on-man” defense. They set a lot of picks and were able to make enough off-ball cuts to get quality shots on the net.
The Wildcats let up on the gas in the 2nd and 3rd, BC started catching up. They were able to capitalize on some of the cards that were given to Northwestern. A couple of greens and yellows throughout gave the Eagles a power-play opportunity. They were able to score a goal or two but for the most part, they were shut out by the Cat’s man-down zone.
BC’s race to make a comeback wasn’t enough and the Eagles fell to the Cats 14-11.
The game saw some big-time scores that I feel should be mentioned. Northwestern’s Izzy Scane had 5 goals while Erin Coykendall had 4, and Madison Taylor had 3. On the BC side, Rachel Clark (the transfer from Virginia Tech) netted 5 goals and was joined by Kayla Martello and Emma LoPinto who both had 2 goals themselves.
This was one of the best lacrosse games I have watched in a while. Both offensive put up some beautiful plays and goals, with both defenses making some huge stops. This win gave Northwestern the boost of confidence they needed, and it taught BC that the “home-field advantage” means nothing against these relentless Wildcats.
