Coming off two losses on the weekend, Virginia looked to right the ship against the number one team in the country, Boston College. After putting up a valiant fight early, the potent attack of the Eagles (4-0, 1-0 ACC) proved to overwhelm the Cavaliers (2-3, 0-1 ACC), en route to a 22-15 win Wednesday afternoon.
For the Cavaliers, this was a game of two completely different halves. Early on, it appeared Virginia had solved some of the issues that had plagued it in its losses to Maryland and Princeton, mixing a balanced offense with a stifling defense. However, Boston College, led by reigning Tewaaraton winner Charlotte North, showed why they were the top team in the country.
Boston College came out of the gates hot. The Eagles scored three unanswered goals in a span of 3:10 to open the game, courtesy of three different goal scorers. In what looked to be an early blowout, the Virginia offense kicked into a new gear and manufactured a run of their own.
The duo of freshman midfielder Rachel Clark and senior midfielder Courtlynne Caskin poured into two goals apiece as a part of a 4-0 run to quickly put the Cavaliers on top. The two lethal offenses would trade blows to end the first quarter, each scoring two goals.
The second quarter began similarly to the way that the first ended, with the two offenses going back and forth. The Eagles would outscore the Cavaliers 3-2 over the course of seven minutes to tie the game up at 8-8.
The Cavaliers matched with two straight goals from senior attack Ashlyn McGovern to put them back up two, before a Boston College goal before halftime cut the lead to one going into the break.
If the first half was any indication, this was going to be a battle to the end for both these teams. However, Boston College had other ideas in mind. Whatever kinks the Eagles ironed out at halftime worked wonders, as the squad went on a 6-1 run in the third quarter to put them up four points. Clark had the lone goal for Virginia in the frame.
Hoping to right the ship in the fourth quarter, Clark once again got the Cavaliers in the scoring column with the opening goal cutting the lead to three. Her five goal effort brought her total to 16 on the year. However, this was not enough to catalyze Virginia, as the Eagles rattled off three unanswered goals to bring the lead to six goals with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Still trying to claw back, senior attack Braeden Dial scored her third goal of the season to cut the deficit back to five, but Boston College once again went on a huge 4-0 run to essentially put the game out of reach. Virginia managed two garbage time goals, but it was too little too late, and they fell 22-15.
After starting the season with a bang, the Cavaliers have struggled in recent games. Over their three game losing streak, they have been outscored 56-39 after outsourcing their opponents 38-16 in the first two games.
The silver lining for Virginia is that their losses have been to Maryland, Princeton and Boston College, three of the best teams in women’s lacrosse. However, being in a conference that had four of the preseason top 5 teams in the country means that the going will not get any easier.
Virginia will look to solve its problems Feb. 27 against Stanford. The game will be at 11 a.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
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