Boston University women’s lacrosse’s undefeated start to the season ended on Wednesday afternoon at the hands of No. 3 Boston College. The Terriers (4-1) fell by a score of 23-5, marking the lowest number of goals they’ve scored against the Eagles since their 7-5 loss in 2004 and the most goals they’ve ever given up in a single game in their 30 matches overall.
The Eagles (7-1) struck early, just 23 seconds into the game on their first possession. The high-powered BC offense gave the Eagles a 10-0 lead at the end of the first period.
“Ultimately, they’re so deep offensively. I mean, across the board, they’re playing a lot of seniors and fifth years,” head coach Lauren Morton said. “Certainly we’ve prepared for a number of different people, but across the board, I think they’re a strong team.”
BU could not gain significant possession during the first frame, as their first shot in the game for the Terriers came 12 minutes in. The Eagles had 19 shots by then.
Freshman goalkeeper Natalie Aiosa had a few big saves in the first, one on a free position shot, and had a season-high 11 saves overall.
“She’s definitely been someone just across the board, I think has really stepped into kind of an unexpected position … we’ve been so impressed with I just even think her leadership down there, her composure,” Morton said. “She saw 21 shots in the first half. [I] really can’t speak enough to how well she’s done it really how well she’s handled and navigated the whole thing.”
As Boston College starters headed to the bench, the Terriers began generating more offensive plays, with a couple shots in a row with a few minutes left in the half.
Finally, BU senior midfielder Cassie Reinertson scored BU’s first goal unassisted with 90 seconds left in the half to bring the score to 14-1 to end the half.
The momentum that Reinertson’s goal brought continued in the second half, as junior attack Raegan Bailey scored BU’s second of the game 36 seconds into the second half. The Terriers had their most productive offense in the third, scoring three of their five goals in the frame.
In addition to Bailey, junior midfielder Avery Jones scored on the man-up opportunity in the middle of the third, and freshman midfielder Reilly Walsh scored on another man-up opportunity with six minutes left in the third. Walsh also had a team-high of two caused turnovers and three ground balls.
In the fourth, senior defender Ellen Monahan scored off the draw control with two-and-a-half minutes left for her first goal since 2022.
After scoring ten in the first, the Eagles scored four goals in the second and third periods and five in the final period.
The Terriers will face another ranked opponent in their next game against No. 25 Brown University on Saturday.
“We turn around and play another game, and I think, ‘Let’s learn from that,’” Morton said. “We played really good team defense. That’s what we have to lean on be able to kind of show our group … Offensively, getting into a flow and for us being able to just get more possessions on the draw, I think is important.”
