Boston College Women’s Lacrosse Wins BCI’s Team of the Year Award

Many of the 2017 BCI Awards were decided by a single vote, but Team of the Year was a unanimous decision, with BC lacrosse taking home the crown. The Boston College lacrosse team was expected to have a good but not spectacular year. The Eagles went 3-4 in the ACC (with a couple of close, hard fought losses) and 17-7 overall. They made it to the NCAA Tournament, as they have every year that Coach Walker has been head coach. Coming into the tournament as an unseeded team, many were expecting the Eagles to get knocked out early.

But then the tournament started. BC knocked off their first round opponent, Canisius, with a 13 goal victory. They moved on to play #9 Syracuse, who they had never defeated in the postseason before... and won that game 21-10. A home game against #7 USC went 20-14 in BC’s favor, sending the Eagles to their first ever Final Four. BC faced off against fellow underdog Navy in the semifinals, earning a 1 goal victory to take them to the finals. The Eagles ultimately lost the trophy, falling by 3 goals to an undefeated Maryland team, but the team fought until the very end. Despite on a loss, BC lacrosse was the feel good story of a mediocre year in BC athletics.

On an individual level, the Eagles had NCAA’s leading goal scorer this season in Sam Apuzzo, who scored 80 goals in 24 games. Apuzzo, a sophomore, is the fastest player in program history to reach 100 career points and holds the program record for points in a single season with 119. She also holds the record for goals in a single season (80), and is second in assists in a single season with 39. Kate Weeks, who was a senior this year, is now second in program history in both points and goals after recording 106 points and 76 goals this season.

The Eagles also hold the distinction of having the only player in women’s lacrosse history to win the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player Award despite playing for the losing team. Kent finished the NCAA Tournament with a record 37 points and scored a record tying 10 points in the final. Kent, who was certainly the star of the tournament, plays only half the season with the lacrosse team due to the fact that she is also a varsity hockey player.

With a number of star players, including Apuzzo, Kent, and BCI’s 2017 Most Improved Player, Kaileen Hart, returning next season the Eagles should be set for another big year in 2018!