Unbeaten Maryland wins NCAA women’s lacrosse championship over Boston College
Maryland players celebrate with the trophy after defeating Boston College to win the NCAA Division I lacrosse championship, Sunday, May 28, 2017, in Foxborough, Mass. Credit: AP / Elise Amendola
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — They came in record numbers to see a coronation, to watch No. 1 Maryland cap an unbeaten season with its latest national championship. But Boston College, playing in its first Final Four, also was a very visible presence.
Thousands of Eagles fans wore bright, neon green shirts — even though the school colors are maroon and gold — at the request of coach Acacia Walker. “We did it so the girls could look and find their families and feel really grounded from it,’’ Walker said. “I think it was awesome.”
In the end, though, Maryland was, in Walker’s words, “amazing.”
The Terrapins broke a halftime tie with five goals in 4:26 and held off a BC rally to earn a 16-13 victory Sunday at Gillette Stadium before a crowd of 11,668, an all-time high for an NCAA women’s lacrosse final. Maryland (23-0) won its third title in the last four years and the 13th in program history.
Attacker Caroline Steele, one of six Maryland players with at least 35 goals this season, scored a championship-game record six, including two plus an assist during that key 5-0 run.
“Caroline played great. She was on fire when no one else was,” said midfielder Zoe Stukenberg, who had three assists. “She stepped up when we needed her and it was unbelievable.”
After BC (17-7) battled to a 5-5 tie at halftime, Megan Whittle, Steele (twice) and Jen Giles (twice) got the second half started in explosive fashion for the Terps.
“We were 5-for-21 [shooting]. Our shots were not falling at all,” said attacker Kali Hart shorn (two goals, one assist). “Getting that quick goal within the first 30 seconds really brought us up.”
Boston College gave its conspicuously garbed fans plenty to cheer about by scoring three straight goals, two by Kenzie Kent (five goals, five assists), to make it 10-8. Kent assisted on Dempsey Arsenault’s score that got the Eagles to within 11-10 with 12:04 remaining.
But Maryland, which scored the final three goals to nip Stony Brook, 13-12, in last week’s quarterfinals, scored five of the next six goals to take command. Defenseman Nadine Hadnagy (Farmingdale), who held Kent to one goal and one assist in the first half, made a takeaway, streaked coast to coast and dished to Steele for a 15-11 lead with 5:59 left. Taylor Hensh (three goals) made it 16-11 with 4:07 to go.
Boston College provided some fireworks of its own as the teams totaled a finals-record 29 goals. Kent tied a championship-game record with her 10 points and sophomore Sam Apuzzo (West Babylon) scored four to finish as the nation’s leading scorer with 80.
“She’s a really quiet kid, real ly shy,” Walker said of Apuzzo, who scored the final two goals of the game. “Something ignites in here when you put a lacrosse stick in her hands. She’s funny and quirky and her teammates love her. It will be fun to coach her for the next couple of years.”
So keep those neon green shirts handy, Eagles fans. You just might need to bring them to Stony Brook, site of the 2018 women’s Final Four.
