The Denver Women’s Lacrosse team was eliminated in the second round by the Boston College Eagles by a score of 13-8. After cruising past Vermont 16-3 in the first round, DU ran into one of the best teams in the country, with BC ranked third overall headed into the tournament, of which they were the defending champions.
The two teams had faced off earlier in the season, with the Eagles defeating Denver 9-5 in a game that only went three quarters due to weather. In a similar fashion, DU was able to stay within striking distance on Sunday, but Boston College was always one step ahead of them. Whenever DU got a goal, BC would respond with two of their own for nearly the whole game.
The Eagles opened the scoring with the first two goals, both by star graduate student attacker Charlotte North. The first goal she scored was the 342nd of her career, making her the most prolific goal scorer in the history of NCAA Women’s Lacrosse.
Denver’s own star graduate student attacker Bea Behrins (Basking Ridge, N.J.) responded to cut the lead in half, but BC would return the favor twofold with the last goal of the first quarter and the first goal of the second to make it a 4-1 game. While DU tried their best to battle their way back, coming close on multiple occasions, the early deficit would be too much for Denver to overcome.
Denver would attempt a rally after the fourth BC goal, getting tallies from senior attacker Kayla Derose (Gaithersburg, Md.) and sophomore midfielder Sloane Kipp (Dallas, Texas) in quick succession to cut the lead to one. Denver seemed to have all the momentum, with the Eagles on their back foot, but BC responded in a quick fashion.
Boston College would score two goals a minute apart to deflate the Denver rally and regain the three-goal lead. The first one would come from senior attacker Jenn Medjid and the second from North. The two goals halted the momentum that Denver had.
Goaltending turned out to be a big factor in the game for both squads. Denver had more shots on goal than BC by a 16-13 margin, but all 13 of the Eagles’ shots found the back of the net. While BC’s goalie, senior Rachel Hall, is a four-year starter, Denver’s goaltenders lack that kind of experience. The talented freshman Emelia Bohi (Bethesda, Md.) saw the bulk of the action for Denver. While Bohi undoubtedly has a very bright future and will be a fixture between the pipes for years to come, there was certainly an experience gap on display. BC also took advantage of free position opportunities, scoring four goals that way, which made for harder shots to save.
After going down 8-5 at halftime and conceding the only two goals in the third quarter, Denver was facing an uphill battle, but they showed a lot of fight in the fourth quarter. Freshman attacker Lauren Black (New Westminster, B.C.) opened the scoring in the fourth quarter to make it a 10-6 game. Redshirt freshman midfielder Raegan Wilson (Milton, Ontario) then cut the lead to three with 8:23 to go. However, BC would score three of the last four goals of the game to give them a 13-8 victory and a spot in the quarterfinals.
It was a fruitful season for Denver, as they made their fourth straight NCAA tournament and won their second straight Big East championship. While they are losing a star in Behrins, they are bringing a lot of talent back and have a promising future.
