Syracuse women’s lacrosse: Boston College preview and game thread

We’ve got a big one for the regular season finale over in Chestnut Hill.

Almost exactly one year ago, the Syracuse Orange and the Boston College Eagles met at the SU Soccer Stadium to decide if ‘Cuse would win the regular season conference title outright or if they would share it with the Eagles.

It appeared as though we were headed for that exact same setup this year, but that was before BC lost in overtime to Virginia on Saturday.

As a result, the Orange secured the outright ACC regular season title for the very first time, after having shared it in 2014 and 2023. It was their first outright conference title since they won the Big East in 2013 in their final year in the league, and when Kayla Treanor was a freshman.

‘Cuse goes into this game putting their nine-game winning streak and their 8-0 ACC record on the line. It’s also their seventh game this season against a Top 10 opponent, the most for any team in the country.

While the regular season title has been decided, there are still huge implications for SU’s resume and their postseason hopes. It should be an electric atmosphere for this top flight matchup, with the action getting underway at 5 PM on ESPNU.

• All-time series: 29th meeting; Syracuse leads overall, 17-11; BC 8-2 in last 10
• Last meeting: Boston College W, 8-7 in NCAA Tournament Semifinals on May 26, 2023
• Boston College last year: 19-4 overall, 8-1 ACC; lost to Northwestern, 18-6 in NCAAT Final
• Boston College this year: 12-3 overall, 6-2 ACC

Boston College is having a very weird season. They are stocked with more talent than just about any team in the entire country, and yet they haven’t turned that into a single top level win to this point in the season.

They’re 12-3, but their only wins even worth mentioning are over North Carolina and Yale. And while UNC is good, they’re not quite up to their usual dominant level. The best teams they’ve played are Northwestern, Notre Dame and Virginia, and those are their three losses.

All that said, their talent level is through the roof, so let’s take a look:

Scouting Boston College

BC has both the No. 3 scoring offense (17.27 goals per game) and the No. 3 scoring defense (7.93 goals-against per game) in the country.

They’re tied for fifth in shooting percentage (.500), sixth in shots per game (34.53), fourth in points per game (25.47), 10th in assists per game (8.20), sixth in free position shooting percentage (.580), fourth in turnovers per game (11.80) and fourth in clearing percentage (.933).

That’s six statistical categories in which they’re ranked in the Top 5 in the entire country, and nine in which they’re in the Top 10. They do a lot of things well, which is probably something to do with all that talent they have. Speaking of which:

Their offense is just beyond loaded, most specifically at attack. Rachel Clark (55G, 12A, 67P), Mckenna Davis (14G, 49A, 63P), Emma LoPinto (40G, 17A, 57P) and Kayla Martello (46G, 6A, 52P) make up the starting attack, and their numbers are off the charts.

Clark is a 50-goal scorer, Martello and LoPinto are 40-goal scorers, and Davis’ 49 assists is tied for the most in the country. They produce at a prodigious rate, and the Orange defense has quite the task on their hands.

Their midfield is also extremely talented and very experienced with Belle Smith (29G, 12A, 41P, 15GB, 10CT, 32DC) and Cassidy Weeks (28G, 6A, 34P, 12GB, 11CT, 45DC) leading the way. Both are All-American caliber midfielders and all-around players who factor in on all three phases of the game.

Draw taker Ryan Smith (49DC) leads a group that comprises five players who’ve won at least 30 draw controls on the season.

Their defense is equally crawling with All-Americans in defenders Sydney Scales (18GB, 21CT), Becky Browndorf (20GB, 15CT) and Hunter Roman (13GB, 14CT), and goalie Shea Dolce is among the best in the country with a .464 save percentage and an 8.31 goals-against average.