Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Maryland tops Boston College for NCAA title
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. >> After a sporadic first half, top-seeded Maryland did what it normally does.
A 5-5 halftime tie was a 10-5 Maryland lead just 4:26 into the second half, and the Terrapins held on to beat Boston College 16-13 on Sunday in the NCAA women’s lacrosse championship game.
“We struggled shooting in the first half,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We came out in the second half on fire. Give these guys all the credit. They played hard. They played their hearts out.”
Caroline Steele had six goals and an assist, Taylor Hensh scored three times, and the Terps capped an unbeaten season with their 13th NCAA title. Jen Giles, Megan Whittle and Kali Hartshorn each had two goals and an assist for the Terrapins (23-0).
Maryland played in its fifth straight final and won its third title in four years. The only NCAA tournament loss during that span came in last year’s championship game, when North Carolina knocked off the two-time defending champ Terrapins 13-7.
“Three for four isn’t too shabby. Finishing up your senior season undefeated is pretty awesome,” said Zoe Stukenberg, who had three assists in her final game with the Terps.
The heavily favored Terps scored 10 seconds into the game, They racked up those five quick goals in the second half, but Boston College kept it from becoming a runaway.
“We were a little shook up again in the first half,” Boston College coach Acacia Walker said. “They’re just so smart. They just tuned in and did what they needed to do. Every person did their job and we just sort of plugged away.”
Kenzie Kent had five goals and five assists for Boston College, which reached the championship game for the first time. Sam Apuzzo scored four goals for the Eagles, giving her 80 for the season.
Although Maryland never trailed, the Terps were pushed by the Eagles, who battled back from an early 5-2 deficit.
After being shut out for the last 16:11 of the first half, the Terps stormed out of halftime to regain command. Whittle started it with a goal 19 seconds in, then Steele struck for two 1:18 apart to get the Terps comfortably on top again.
“Caroline played great. She was on fire,” Stukenberg said. “We needed her. Nobody else was and she stepped up when we needed her. It was unbelievable.”
Kent kept Boston College close with three straight goals to cut the margin to 11-9, then assisted on Dempsey Aresenault’s goal with 14 minutes left to get the Eagles back within a goal.
“I think it gives negative mojo to your team if you think of how many goals you’re down,” Kent said. “Instead, we take it play by play and I think that’s what got us out of that hole.”
Caroline Wannen scored for Maryland with 12:04 left to start the Terps on another scoring surge. Hensh put Maryland up 13-10, then, after Kent’s fifth goal of the game, the Terps picked up three more goals by Kali Hartshorn, Steele and Hensh with 4:07 left to all but seal another title for Maryland.