With a dominant 16-goal second half, No. 4 Boston College advances to 10-0 on the season with a 19-10 win over ACC rival Louisville.
The 10 victories tie the longest win streak in program history. The previous streak came in 2015 when the Eagles also opened the season with 10 consecutive wins.
Boston College opened the scoring with back-to-back goals from Dempsey Arsenault and Tess Chandler, but the Cardinals responded with two of their own to tie it at the 10:53 mark. Arsenault scored once more before Louisville finished the half on top with three straight tallies from Madison Hoover, Tessa Chad and Julia Wood.
Trailing 5-3 at the break, the Eagles opened the second period firing on all cylinders thanks to Kaileen Hart sparking a four-goal run to take a two-goal lead 10 minutes in.
Over the next seven minutes, Louisville had 3-2 edge to bring the score within one, but the Eagles exploded for eight straight goals, including three from Emma Schurr, to take a nine-goal lead that was too much for the Cardinals to overcome.
Each team exchanged two more goals apiece in the final 3:10 with Hart scoring one last insurance tally with 29 second remaining on the clock.
Hart and Arsenault led Boston College with five points apiece, while Schurr and Chandler had four points. Arsenault also added a team-high 12 draw controls, which set a new single-game program record, breaking junior Sam Apuzzo’s previous mark of 11.
Hoover led the Cardinals with five points. Chad and Wood had hat tricks.
"I thought for 45 minutes we hung with one of the nation's best," said Louisville coach Scott Teeter. "Give BC credit. They just kept on pushing and kept on pushing. We had some adversity today. We have to learn from this because the schedule doesn't get any easier."
No. 4 @BCwlax overcomes its first half scare, during which it trailed by two, by dominating the second half 16-5 to defeat unranked @LouisvilleLax 19-10. Hart led Eagles with 5PTs (4G, 1A), including this game-ending score. Arsenault: 5PTs (3G, 2A). Chandler: 4G. #NCAAWLAX pic.twitter.com/t5SLSwPGbl
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 17, 2018
Hazar Sets Carolina Record in Win
With eight assists in No. 6 North Carolina’s 18-13 win over No. 11 Northwestern, Ela Hazar set the single-game program record for assists, besting the previous mark of six by Amy Fine in 1997 which was tied by Sydney Holman in 2014. Hazar also became the career leader in the category with 98, surpassing Becky Lynch.
The Tar Heels opened the game with back-to-back goals from Maggie Bill and Marie McCool before the Wildcats led 3-1 over the next 10 minutes.
UNC responded having a 4-2 edge in the next 10-minute time frame to lead 7-5 with under three to play. But Northwestern finished the half with three straight goals, including two from Claire Quinn, to lead by one.
The second half opened with both teams exchanging three goals apiece before North Carolina pulled away.
Jamie Ortega sparked a three-goal Tar Heel run at the 21:51 mark, which was then halted by a Selena Lasota tally for the Wildcats. But UNC kept rolling with another five-goal run, which featured three Katie Hoeg tallies.
Lasota scored the final goal of the game, but Northwestern couldn’t overcome the deficit.
Hoeg had a team-high four goals, while McCool, Ortega and Ally Mastroianni had hat tricks.
"It was a very competitive game today," said UNC coach Jenny Levy. "Offensively, we just needed to finish our opportunities, which we did better in the second half.”
Congrats to Ela Hazar, who has a school-record seven assists today and takes over as UNC’s career leader with 97.#GoHeels pic.twitter.com/gEaoNLhIsT
— UNC Women's Lacrosse (@uncwlax) March 17, 2018
Kylie Ohlmiller Stole the Show
Senior Tewaaraton nominee Kylie Ohlmiller was unstoppable in No. 1 Stony Brook’s 13-8 win over No. 14 Towson. Her eight points on seven goals and one assist led the Seawolves to its seventh win of the season to stay undefeated.
She opened the game with a goal two minutes in, followed by a tally from Courtney Murphy off Taryn Ohlmiller’s assist. The sisters then connected at the 15:11 mark to spark a four-goal run for a five-goal lead with six minutes left in the half.
Towson scored three goals spanning both periods to come within two before Murphy responded at the 25:38 mark to make it 7-4.
But Emily Gillinham tied it at seven for the Tigers 12 minutes later in a three-goal run which she also ignited.
The Ohlmiller sisters again connected – Taryn assisted Kylie for the goal – to go up 8-7 with 12:44 to play before Kaitlyn Montalbano knotted it again less than one minute later.
Kylie Ohlmiller then took the game in her own hands, scoring the go-ahead goal at the 10:31 mark to stop Towson in its tracks. The Tigers never scored again.
Ally Kennedy put the Seawolves up two with 9:32 to play. Then Kylie Ohlmiller sealed the deal with three straight goals to finish the game.
Kylie Ohlmiller steals the show again with PTs on 7G & 1A, leading No. 1 @StonyBrookWLAX to a 13-8 victory over @Towson_WLAX. She scored the go-ahead goal to stop Towson in its tracks after it was 8-8 with 11:54 to play. pic.twitter.com/7kWaRJcJe9
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 17, 2018
Penn Extends Hot Start
With a 15-11 win over Duke, the first in Durham, N.C., No. 9 Penn improves to 7-0 in 2018, inching closer to matching its best start in program history when it went 13-0 to open the 2009 season.
Catriona Barry got on the board first for Duke, but the Quakers quickly responded with three consecutive goals including two from Gabby Rosenzweig.
The Blue Devils led 5-2 in the next nine minutes to regain the lead at the 7:21 mark before Zoe Belodeau scored three straight goals spanning both halves to shift the game back in Penn’s favor.
Duke brought the score within one four minutes later, but the Quakers’ offense broke out for a five-goal run, kicked off by two Alex Condon tallies.
With Penn leading 14-8 with 10:37 to play, the Blue Devils attempted to crawl back having a 3-1 advantage to close out the game, but the Quakers’ defense held on for the win.
Belodeau finished with seven points on five goals and two assists, Rosenzweig had six points on a hat trick plus three assists and Condon recorded five points on four goals and an assist. Condon became the 10th player in program history to reach the 100-goal mark.
Duke was led by four points from Kyra Harney.
“In the first half, we did a good job of matching intensity and discipline, taking advantage of opportunities and finishing on shots,” said Blue Devils coach Kerstin Kimel. “Penn really capitalized on good ball movement, hard cuts and hard dodges. … It just wasn’t good enough today.”
Cornell Escapes UMass in Overtime
Thanks to senior Ida Farinholt’s game-winning goal in double overtime off a Taylor Reed assist, Cornell slips past UMass 11-10 on Tierney Field at US Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md.
Sarah Phillips scored the opening goal of the game for the Big Red before the Minutewomen responded two minutes later. Cornell then had an offensive burst, scoring five goals over the next 18 minutes, compared to just two for UMass.
With a 6-3 Cornell lead with under 10 to play, the Minutewomen finished the first half with four straight goals.
To open the second period, Joey Coffy scored the game-tying goal just two minutes in, but UMass went back up by two four minutes later.
Two more goals were exchanged to make it 10-8 with 18:56 to play and then Caroline Allen cut the deficit to one for Cornell to open the door for Coffy to knot it at 10 with 12:13 left on the clock.
Farinholt then scored the game-winner with 1:56 left in the second overtime period.
PHOTO BY TD PAULIUS
Games of Note
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With a 14-9 win over Richmond, No. 2 James Madison is 8-0 and is just one win shy of tying the best start in program history when they began 1988 at 9-0.
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No. 3 Maryland dominated in-state and Big Ten foe Johns Hopkins 15-5 with a team-high four goals from Caroline Steele, plus hat tricks from Jen Giles, Taylor Hensh and Megan Whittle.
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No. 7 Virginia handled No. 20 Notre Dame 17-10 with four goals apiece from Kasey Behr and Avery Shoemaker, plus hat tricks from Maggie Jackson, Sammy Mueller and Olivia Schildmeyer.
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No. 10 Navy avoided the upset bug thanks to Jenna Collins’ golden goal with 16 seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Midshipmen to a 13-12 victory over unranked Colgate.
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With an 18-13 win, No. 18 Penn State extends its all-time record against Rutgers to 19-0. Dating back to 2011, the Nittany Lions have won eight straight conference openers, including the past four seasons in the Big Ten.
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Thanks to Adriana Pendino’s hat trick, Michigan opened Big Ten play with a 9-7 win over Ohio State in Hannah Nielsen’s first year as the Wolverines head coach.
No. 3 @MarylandWLax cruises past in-state & @bigten rival @HopkinsLacrosse 15-5 behind a team-high 5PTs (4G, 1A) from Caroline Steele. pic.twitter.com/Hm5Tlw9C3q
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 17, 2018
Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 2 James Madison 14, Richmond 9
No. 3 Maryland 15, No. 17 Johns Hopkins 5
No. 4 Boston College 19, Louisville 10
No. 6 North Carolina 18, No. 11 Northwestern 13
No. 7 Virginia 17, No. 20 Notre Dame 10
No. 9 Penn 15, Duke 11
No. 10 Navy 13, Colgate 12 (OT)
No. 13 Loyola 15, Army 3
No. 18 Penn State 18, Rutgers 13
Other Scores
Bryant 18, Niagara 8
Cornell 11, UMass 10 (2OT)
Georgetown 19, Villanova 10
Holy Cross 16, Lafayette 14
Marist 18, Binghamton 8
Michigan 9, Ohio State 7
Quinnipiac 18, Gardner-Webb 9
Stanford 21, Cal 5
UMass-Lowell 18, Sacred Heart 9
UMBC 13, Longwood 10
William & Mary 8, Old Dominion 5
Yale 19, Brown 17
#Skills. A tricky feed inside with defenders crashing for the goal. @PennStateWLAX starts @bigten play on top with an 18-13 win over @rulaxbrand. pic.twitter.com/T2DJs7qDsd
— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) March 17, 2018
Division III
Washington & Lee Upsets Catholic
Cordelia Peters and Dani Murray led unranked Washington & Lee to a 13-9 upset of No. 12 Catholic with six and four points, respectively.
The Generals got off to a hot start, leading 9-3 at halftime thanks to a five-goal run midway through the first period.
The Cardinals opened the second half with a four-goal run, but Washington & Lee responded with four straight goals of its own to lead 13-7 with 10:53 to play. Catholic would finish the game with back-to-back goals, but the first half deficit was too much to overcome.
Other Scores of Note
No. 2 Middlebury 13, No. 14 Wesleyan 1