No. 8 Virginia women’s lacrosse traveled to Chestnut Hill, Mass. in its final away game of the regular season to take on No. 2 Boston College in an important ACC matchup. The Cavaliers (10-5, 4-4 ACC) battled back from an early deficit to stay with the Eagles (14-1, 7-1 ACC) as the first half rounded out, but Boston College ultimately took off to beat Virginia 24-11.
Sophomore midfielder Kate Galica continued to shine for the Cavaliers, leading the offense with three goals and eight draw controls. Sophomore attackers Jenna DiNardo and Addi Foster also contributed two goals each.
However, a solid offensive output from Virginia’s star sophomore class was not enough to stop the Eagles, whose 24 goals were a season high for the team. The Cavaliers particularly struggled to stop the speed and deception of senior attackers Rachel Clark and Emma LoPinto, who scored seven and six goals, respectively.
On the offensive side of the ball, Virginia was challenged early on by Boston College’s junior goalkeeper Shea Dolce, which was expected — Dolce leads Division I lacrosse with a .533 save percentage. The Eagles’ defensive unit also features two midseason All-Americans in junior defender Shea Baker and sophomore defender Lydia Colasante.
Boston College showed why it is the No. 2 team in the country from the start, taking a 4-0 lead early on. The Cavaliers had trouble setting their defense up before the Eagles got things moving through LoPinto, Clark and the rest of its offense.
However, as Galica found herself face guarded and Coach Sonia LaMonica opted to pull her out of the offense and operate as a six-person unit, Virginia found its footing and took advantage of two man-up situations. The Cavaliers found success passing and cutting from behind the goal cage to deceive Dolce. Three goals in a row — two from DiNardo and one from sophomore attacker Madison Alaimo — brought a real shift in momentum as Virginia cut its scoring deficit to one midway through the second quarter.
However, Boston College responded almost immediately through LoPinto, pulling ahead of the Cavaliers after a four-goal run entering the second half. As the third quarter progressed, the Eagles advanced further out of Virginia’s reach. The fourth quarter followed suit as the scoring differential between the Cavaliers and their ACC foe widened. Boston College closed out the fourth quarter with five unanswered goals to solidify a crushing loss for Virginia.
While a crushing loss is difficult to swallow, the Cavaliers’ first half performance to reel the Eagles in is hopeful for its ability to stick with top-ranked teams for some time. Virginia will need to figure out how to keep its stamina up all game, particularly as the ACC Tournament draws nearer. Given its current standing of No. 7 in the ACC, the Cavaliers would be slated to play Boston College in the first round of the tournament — a response to Saturday’s loss will be crucial.
First, though, Virginia will need to turn their attention to their final home game of the season against Virginia Tech, which will take place Wednesday at 7 p.m. Closing out its regular season in strong fashion, especially to a team that sits one place beneath the Cavaliers in the ACC rankings, certainly carries weight. Only then can Virginia truly focus on readjusting for the ACC Tournament.
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