The Boston University women’s lacrosse team opened its season at Nickerson Field with a loss against arch-rival No. 5 Boston College, 16-6.
The Eagles (1-1) scored 11 second half goals as they continued their decade-long victory streak over the Terriers (0-1).
BU junior attack Makenzie Irvine led the team in scoring with two goals and converted a free-position shot.
BC junior attack Charlotte North exploded for eight goals against the Terriers, raising her season total to 11 goals after two games, good for second-most in the country.
BU head coach Lauren Morton said starting the season against a top-five team is a chance to determine her team’s skillset.
“I think you’ll learn a lot,” Morton said. “You’re going to learn a lot right away. You’re going to be able to see where your strengths are and where your weaknesses are.”
The first half started with an Eagles possession and sophomore attack Jenn Medjid attempted a shot on goal, but BU senior goalie Bianca Smith made the save.
North eventually opened up the scoring just over a minute later, followed by junior attack Jordan Lappin to give the Eagles a 2-0 lead.
The Terriers and Eagles traded shots on goal, but both remained unsuccessful until BU sophomore attack Hannah Kenneally got the Terriers on the board, but North scored her second goal of the game 27 seconds later.
The scoring assault continued as Irvine scored two goals in 12 seconds to bring the score to a 3-3 tie.
Approximately 15 minutes into the first half, the Terriers got their first lead over the Eagles with junior midfielder Emily Vervlied scoring.
The Terriers continued to gain the lead over the Eagles with BU freshman attack Lauren Kaye, sinking the Terriers’ fifth goal.
A free-position play was given to the Eagles but the shot was saved by Smith. The Eagles went for a second attempt that proved successful with a third goal of the game from North.
North’s scoring streak continued as she scored again, tying the game at 5-5.
Despite the consistent output of scoring for the majority of the first half, the final six minutes were scoreless as the Terriers and Eagles went into the break knotted at five.
The second half started in the Eagles favor as Medjid scored two quick goals, giving BC a lead it did not relinquish.
The Terriers couldn’t keep up their first half momentum going as senior midfielder Lexi Lewis scored the lone BU goal of the second half.
Morton expressed how the team needs to build up their physical endurance to outlast teams like BC.
“We’ve got to learn how to play a full 60 minutes. At the end of the day, we really showed up in the first half,” Morton said. “I think we have some left in the tank and I think that’s kind of a regret.”
Scoring momentum went back to the Eagles with two more goals by North and another by Lappin. The Eagles hit double digits with a 10-6 lead 11 minutes into the second period.
North extended the lead to eight for the Eagles with a shot assisted by Lappin. Medjid soon added her own hat trick to the mix with a goal assisted by North.
Lappin earned a hat trick soon after with her third goal being scored with a free-position shot. BC senior attack Cara Urbank also got on the board for the first time with just under 16 minutes left.
A last-second goal by Boston College redshirt freshman midfielder Cassidy Weeks ended the game with a final score of 16-6 as the Eagles continued their 11 year streak of beating BU.
Morton expressed the Terriers need to learn from this game and improve on their play for their next game Feb. 14 at 4 p.m. against Niagara University (0-0).
“[This game] allows us the ability to watch this film and turn around and we have a game right away,” Morton said, “but I think I’d rather learn early on what we need to be able to fix.”
