BC women’s lacrosse pulling out all stops
Eagles focused on NCAA tournament
What appealed to Shea Dolce about playing goalie?
“i love the pressure,” said the goaltender for Boston college’s women’s lacrosse team. “i love having the ability to make a game-changing play.”
in just two seasons with the Eagles, one of the nation’s best lacrosse programs, the sophomore has experienced plenty of pressure and many opportunities to make those game-changing plays — and has risen to the occasion.
Last week, Dolce was named the Acc Goaltender of the Year, adding to her league Rookie of the Year honors from last season. She will take those accolades and her 8.17 goals-against average (fourth-best in the nation) into this week’s NcAA tournament, where the Eagles hope to make their seventh consecutive national title game.
the No. 2 Eagles (16-3) have a firstround bye and will face the winner of friday’s Princeton-Drexel game Sunday at noon.
Bc enters the tournament with a second straight Acc title, having soundly defeated Syracuse, 15-8, in the conference title game April 28. the Eagles have won eight of their last nine games and seem to have overcome the three hiccups they had this season: losses to defending national champion and current No. 1 Northwestern, No. 7 Notre Dame, and No. 6 Virginia.
those bumps in the road were not surprises to the team.
“We worked very hard last year and we knew we’d have to work even harder for it this year,” said Dolce.
thanks to the steady improvement and full-game effort that coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein preaches often, Bc is playing its best lacrosse of the season right now, and Dolce is a great example. She had a .535 save percentage in the three-game Acc tournament, including a 10-save effort in the title game. the familiarity that comes with this being Dolce’s second postseason is quite helpful.
“i feel a lot better than i did last year at this time,” said Dolce. “it makes me more confident.”
Dolce, a Darien, conn., product, benefited from coming into this season as the team’s top goaltender. in her freshman year, she was battling for the starting spot, and had to approach offseason and fall ball more competitively. After winning the starter’s spot early in the season, she went on to a stellar 15-3 record and 8.84 goals-against average, marks that were not just the best among freshmen but in the top 10 nationally overall.
Her stellar rookie year secured the starter’s spot coming into this season, and that allowed her a different approach in the preseason.
“i worked a lot with my goalie coach, callahan kent,” said Dolce. “this offseason was about hammering the basics and getting more confident with the defense and the team overall. it has helped.”
the defense in front of Dolce is formidable, and it is led by former Globe All-Scholastic Sydney Scales of Walpole. Named the Acc Defender of the Year for the second time and in the running for lacrosse’s top honor, the tewaaraton Award, the senior led a defense that held three Acc tournament opponents to just 20 goals combined.
the bond between defense and goaltender is tight, which is something Dolce loves about the position. Scales and her fellow defenders love having Dolce’s back, as seen in a late first-half sequence that changed the Acc title game against Syracuse. With Bc down two and on the penalty kill, Dolce made two highlight-reel saves, then Scales dove for a ground ball in a sequence that halted any momentum Syracuse had built.
“We’ve been talking all year about having our goalie’s back,” said Scales. “if she was going to make two amazing saves, i was going to do everything i could to get that ball.”
Dolce credits the team’s defensive strength to the offensive talent they practice with daily.
Senior midfielder Belle Smith is one of the most impactful at the position in the country, with 37 goals and 14 assists, and 39 draw controls, a career high. Virginia transfer Rachel clark leads the Eagles’ attack with 64 goals and 16 assists, while junior Mckenna Davis has dished out assists at a record pace. Her 59 helpers pushed her to a career total of 133, overtaking one of the program’s greats, kenzie kent. Senior kayla Martello (58) and junior transfer Emma LoPinto (50) hit the 50-goal mark.
With six teammates over 40 points for the season, it creates quite the competitive atmosphere for Dolce and the defense at practice.
“they make me so good,” said Dolce. “they humble me at times. i just have to compliment them because they score the most amazing goals. they push me to be the best player i can be.”
that level of practice will be useful, as Bc’s portion of the NCAA bracket could include the third matchup of the season against Notre Dame in the quarterfinals, and the third game against Syracuse in a month if they advance to the national semifinals.
Dolce is looking only toward Princeton or Drexel at the moment, knowing that looking ahead could interrupt the late-season momentum.
“i’m looking forward to playing more games with this group,” said Dolce. “At this time of year, another game is not guaranteed, so i want to soak up every moment with this group.”