The Lady Eagles go for second straight national lacrosse title

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Coming off last year’s national title run, the Boston College Eagles are looking to write another glorious chapter in their rich lacrosse legacy, which has already produced two NCAA Division I national titles in the last five years and eight straight trips to the Final Four.

This year’s 19-win two-loss squad, ranked No. 2 nationally, coached by Acacia Walker, is gunning for a repeat national lacrosse championship, the first back-to-back wins in Boston College history. An 18-11 triumph over Yale in regional postseason competition advanced this team to within two victories of their ultimate goal. The win vaulted the Lady Eagles to this year’s NCAA Final Four, which will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., this coming weekend.

The Eagles Lacrosse team was the NCAA 2024 champions. PHOTO: BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETICS

Junior defense woman Chrystina Bennett looked into last year’s championship team and this year’s title contender. “We were such a close team last year, with each of us pulling for each other,” she said. “We worked hard every day to make each other better. This year’s team possesses the same quality. Our philosophy comes from our coaches, who prepare us for every scenario that we will face on the field. We are trained to expect the unexpected. This program is built on being underdogs, and that pushes us to be our best every day.”

But how does a national championship team view life from the top?

“We stay focused on playing as a team, ignoring what is written and discussed in the media. It’s about us [as a team] and avoiding outside distractions,” said Bennett.

Their coach, Acacia Walker-Weinsetin, is in her 13th year as the Eagles’ head coach and is a two-time gold medal winner in the sport.

Bennett, who started playing lacrosse at age 5, knows a lot about winning. She is part of the famous McDonogh School Lacrosse Program in Owings Mills, Maryland, which holds the national high school record of 198 consecutive wins.

“I was bathed in pressure at McDonogh. During the winning streak, each game brought an intense level of pressure,” said Bennett. “We lost part of two seasons due to the COVID-19 epidemic, but the streak stayed intact. When it was finally broken in my senior year, I looked back and realized that I had been part of something very special. When you add to that the dominance of my M&D club team, I gained a knowledge of winning that served me well before I came to B.C.”

Several injuries have taken a toll on her body, but she has never considered quitting lacrosse.

“Injuries have taken me off the field, playing only three games this season. But my love for the game and my teammates keep me playing,” she said. “The love my teammates show me and the fact that I am making lifelong friends drives me to fight through the pain of injuries to make a contribution to what we are trying to accomplish.”

Rallying from adversity is a staple of this national championship team. “Last year’s NCAA title game is proof of that,” said Bennett. “We fell behind 6-0 to Northwestern. Our coaches told us to hang tough and believe we would come back and win, which we did by the final score of 14-13. It was one of the greatest moments of our lives.” 

Head coach Walker-Weinstein knows much about the Evanston, Illinois, club since she was an assistant coach during the Wildcats’ three consecutive NCAA titles from 2006-08. This year, she commandeered the Eagles to a 13-9 victory, ending Northwestern’s 47-game home winning streak Talking about that win, Walker-Weinstein said, “I think they were attacking the defense with confidence, and I just wished that we could have continued to extend the lead, but against Northwestern, you are unlikely to do that because they are so good.”

Defenseman Bennett signs an autograph for a fan. PHOTO: BOSTON COLLEGE ATHLETICS

To win a second straight national lacrosse championship, the Eagles will have to turn back the challenge of Northwestern again. They will face the top-ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina/Florida Gators winner, if they are victorious. That would be a dream matchup, considering that BC’s only two losses this year have come at the hands of North Carolina by the scores of 15-13 and 13-12.

“We have seen enough of them this season,” said Bennett, adding, “But if we are to get to the NCAA championship game and they are there, I’ll have to meet up with my old high school teammate Caroline Godine. If it comes to that, I’ll keep in mind the thought that I have carried all this season, to fight just one more game in the hopes of seeing my seniors and transfers hold up that national championship trophy. We did it last year. We are going after it again this year. It would be amazing to repeat as national champions, no matter who we have to play to get it done. When we won the Atlantic Coast Conference title last year, we felt that we were going to be tough to beat. That proved to be true. This year is different, but the ultimate goal is the same. We will see how it all turns out.”   

The nation’s top-ranked team, the North Carolina Tar Heels, has handed the Eagles their only two losses of the season by a total of three goals. They sport the three Humphrey sisters, Nicole, Chloe and Ashley, with the latter two named Tewaaraton Award finalists. This award honors the top lacrosse players in the country.

The fifth-ranked Gators boast four All-American candidates and are looking for revenge against the Tar Heels, losing in an early-season contest 14-9. The Gators are making their second straight appearance in the Final Four.

If the Eagles make it to the finals, it will be the eighth year in a row that the Boston College women’s lacrosse team has made it to the big game, matching their rivals, the Northwestern Wildcats and the Maryland Terrapins. Coach Walker-Weinstein explained after the Yale game that “once you get to the Final Four, it’s really anyone’s game and who wants it more and who prepares harder, and I’ll take my group over everyone.”