Boston College Women’s Lacrosse Falls to James Madison in NCAA Finals

Boston College women’s lacrosse team’s season ended today with a loss to James Madison in the NCAA Championship game by a heartbreaking score of 16-15. The Eagles fought hard, but ultimately were unable to keep up with JMU’s speed or to break through the Duke’s defense enough. Despite today’s loss, the Eagles had a phenomenal season, including a undefeated regular season.

James Madison jumped out to an early 2-0 lead tonight, but Dempsey Arsenault scored first for the Eagles to cut that lead in half. James Madison went on to score 2 straight goals before Taylor Walker managed to cut the lead in half again. Goals from Sam Apuzzo, Tess Chandler, and Cara Urbank put BC in the lead, but JMU quickly tied it back up at 5 each before increasing their lead to 7-5. JMU would score once more in the first half, but goals from Tess Chandler, Sam Apuzzo, and Taylor Walker ensured that the half would end with the teams tied at 8.

Emma Schurr and Tess Chandler opened up the scoring in the second half to give BC a 10-8 lead, but JMU quickly took back over. The Dukes took a 12-0 lead, but Dempsey Arsenault scored halfway through the period to cut the lead to 1. The Dukes then scored twice to take a 14-11 lead with 7 minutes remaining before Sam Apuzzo and Taylor Walker each scored to get BC back within 1. The Dukes regaining a 2 goal lead with 3:21 left in regulation only to have Kaileen Hart get BC back within 1 at 2:44. Unfortunately for the Eagles, JMU went back up by 2 with a minute remaining, sealing their victory. Tess Chandler scored the final goal of the game with 22 seconds remaining to make the final score 16-15. Turnovers really killed BC today, particularly as the game started to wind down.

Although this was a heartbreaker, BC will be one of the favorites to win it all next year. The Eagles will be returning most of their star players next season, in addition to adding 4 top ranked recruits and getting Kenzie Kent back for the entire year.