BCI Awards: Game of the Year: Lax’s NCAA semifinal win over Maryland

The Boston College women’s lacrosse team made it to its fifth straight NCAA championship game last month - but to do so, they needed to pull off a frantic and thrilling comeback against the Maryland Terrapins in their own backyard.

Cassidy Weeks scored the game-winning goal with just 18 seconds remaining to lift BC to a 17-16 victory - capping off this year’s BCI Award winner for Game of the Year.

The Eagles trailed 16-13 with seven minutes to play - a deficit that can feel either tiny or gigantic in lacrosse, depending on who’s controlling possession. Because Maryland kept winning draw controls... it felt pretty gigantic.

From our game story on the day of:

When Jenn Medjid scored with 6:58 remaining to make it Maryland 16, BC 14, it felt like the Eagles could be on the verge of a comeback - if they could win a few draws.

But they didn’t.

Maryland in fact won each of the next three critical draw controls down the stretch in the game, and yet the Eagles somehow still managed to force turnovers on all three possessions - then capitalize and score each time:

5:16 to go: North. 16-15 Maryland.

3:06 to go: North. 16-16.

0:18 to go: Weeks. 17-16 BC.

It was familiar heroes defensively making the huge stands for the Eagles. Cassidy Weeks forced two turnovers, and Hollie Schleicher forced another. Sydney Scales scooped up the ground ball with 1:31 to go that gave BC possession and a chance to score in the final seconds, which they did, with style.

The game-tying goal also displayed Charlotte North’s excellence, pulling clear of Maryland’s defenders and tossing a dart in to the back of the net - setting off euphoria in the neon-clad BC fan section.

Though BC came up one game short of the ultimate prize, the semifinal win added yet another to the long list of incredible memories the lax team has served up for fans on Memorial Day weekend for six years running now. Once again, they delivered one of the highest highs of the year across all BC sports - and the game we voted as this year’s Game of the Year.