Come Memorial Day, history will have been made.

Fans will witness a first-time champion – either No. 3 seed James Madison or No. 4 seed Boston College – win it all Sunday. For the first time since 2004, the NCAA will crown a champion that is not Maryland, North Carolina or Northwestern.

NO. 3 JAMES MADISON VS. NO. 4 BOSTON COLLEGE
Sunday, May 27, 12 p.m.
WATCH: ESPNU

Behind five goals and 10 draw controls from captain Haley Warden, the Dukes knocked off the third-seeded Tar Heels in the first semifinal Friday, 15-12, to advance to their first-ever NCAA championship. The win marked the 200th career win for coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe and her 150th at JMU. 

The Eagles then sought revenge for its 2017 NCAA championship loss to the Terps, handing the reigning national champion a 15-13 decision to return to the final thanks to four goals and 10 draw controls from Tewaaraton finalist Sam Apuzzo. It was Boston College’s first win over Maryland in program history.

The 2018 championship game will be one for the underdogs.

“It's so good for the sport,” said Boston College coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. “There's a higher level of talent in multiple different schools and I think it just speaks to the growth of the game.”

NO. 3 SEED JAMES MADISON

NO. 4 SEED BOSTON COLLEGE

Key Storylines

V is for Validation

In the final four A-to-Z guide, U was for the underdogs – James Madison and Boston College – and V was for validation. Fans wouldn’t have been surprised if powerhouses Maryland, the Big Ten champion, and North Carolina, the ACC champion, had another rematch in the NCAA championship. Combined, the Terps and Tar Heels have won the last five national titles.

But the Dukes and Eagles have yet to stake their claim as the best team in Division I.

This year, one of them can.

Boston College, which had its first perfect regular season as the ACC regular season champion, made its first run at a national crown last year, but fell 16-13 to Maryland. With the Terps out of the picture, the Eagles are flying high with confidence.

But James Madison can’t be counted out. This year’s team has validated all the hard work the program has put forth since its last final four appearance 18 years ago. As a member of the CAA, entering the season ranked at No. 17 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, Klaes-Bawcombe still likes to play the underdog card.

“When you have power five conferences out there, people trust that they're just going to get it done,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “In our sport, sometimes we have a little bit of amnesia. … We’ve been ranked in the top 10 half of [the past 20] years, but people just don't remember JMU because it's easy to forget.

“Credit to our program for continuing to fight and continuing to be willing to do the work to prove it,” she continued. “If we really want to truly make James Madison a household name in the lacrosse world, then we need to be consistent because it's easy to just let us go when you have all these power five conferences that people are very comfortable with in this sport of lacrosse.”

Apuzzo, Gaudian: Last Tewaaraton Finalists Standing

Both the Boston College junior and James Madison senior have had impressive years in their respective teams’ historic seasons.

Apuzzo, the ACC Attacker of the Year, set program records in single-game draw controls (17), single-season draw controls (155) and single-season goal scoring (85). Gaudian, the CAA Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring and ranking first nationally in shot percentage, set the season (28) and career (46) records for free position goals.

While James Madison proved they could win without Gaudian in play – she did not score in the first half against North Carolina – Boston College appears to thrive off Apuzzo’s “born for this moments” including her ankle-breaking goals and prowess on the draw.

“Listen Sam you were born for this,” Walker-Weinstein said to Apuzzo after scoring just one goal in the first half against Maryland. “This is what you were made for: this moment. She just never goes away and she came out and scored a couple of quick goals and she's really a clutch player.”

However, just like Haley Warden (5G), Hanna Haven (3G) and Morgan Hardt (2G) did for JMU, fellow Eagles' Tess Chandler (3G), Dempsey Arsenault (3G) and Cara Urbank (3G) proved they are also scoring threats.

Eagles Expect A Zone Defense

James Madison is known for its strong zone defense, and with its effort, has stopped Top 20 teams Virginia, Florida and most recently North Carolina in the NCAA tournament to advance to the title game.

“We pride ourselves on our communication,” Dukes senior defender Rebecca Tooker said. “If someone slides down, you know someone is coming right next to you sliding to that next girl. So it's really energy-driven, communication-driven and just really the fact that our defensive unit is a very close knit group.”

But Boston College, anchored by go-to matchup defender Elizabeth Miller, the ACC Defender of the Year, already knows what to expect – and playing against and defeating Stony Brook’s zone in the quarterfinals is sure to help in its preparations.

“Their zone is tough,” Walker-Weinstein said on JMU’s defense. “They're obviously hungry and in a similar place to where we were last year, so we have our hands full. … Luckily, we've seen really good zones. We've seen North Carolina’s zone, Stony Brook’s zone, multiple different zones all year, so hopefully we can reach back in and pull some experience from those games.”

Goalie Play Remains Critical

Both teams boast top 10 defenses, but anchoring those defense are their goalies – redshirt freshman Molly Dougherty for James Madison and junior Lauren Daly for Boston College.

Dougherty tallied nine saves against North Carolina, while Daly had seven against Maryland. With the two wins, the top goalies of the final four were knocked out of play. With a .479 save percentage, Dougherty now has the lead with a slight edge over Daly’s .436 mark. The young keeper matured quickly for the Dukes and Klaes-Bawcombe has been impressed with her growth. Even Walker-Weinstein noticed she was “lights out.”

“She’s just mature beyond her years,” Klaes-Bawcombe said. “I mean she's a redshirt freshman and she's telling the defense to calm down. She's the last line of defense, so a lot of times, goalies put the pressure on themselves, but [I would say to her,] ‘It has to be 11 people to get to you. It's not about you, Molly. We just need you to make one save here and there. Help us stay in the game.’”

However, Daly has her own system that makes the Boston College defense succeed. After Maryland went up 3-0 three minutes in, and then 5-1 eight minutes in, she settled her defense, which led to a five-goal explosion for the Eagles to tie it back up.

“We have a saying – ‘All Eight, All In,’” Daly said. “In the huddles, when we were down by a few goals, I just said, ‘Let's bring it together and be all-eight, all-in and play team defense.”

Draw Game in the Spotlight

With similar stat lines from Friday night’s semifinals, Sam Apuzzo and Haley Warden will be going to battle Sunday. Warden has 105 draw controls this year, while Apuzzo has 155.

But their teammates on the circle have also recorded numerous draw controls, including Demspey Arsenault for the Eagles with 103 and Kristen Gaudian and Elena Romesburg for JMU with 76 and 73, respectively.

Ultimately, draws equals possessions. The Dukes narrowly won the draw battle against North Carolina, 15-14, with a strong second half 10-6, while the Eagles had the edge the entire game against Maryland, 17-13.

Apuzzo may have the advantage statistically, but Warden is prepared to throw off her game just like she did against Marie McCool, who had 165 draw controls for the Tar Heels this year.

“Marie is very, very good on the draw,” Warden said. “I tried to get her to think a little bit more about what she's doing on the draw so she wasn't as confident.”

Expect a Close, but High-Scoring Affair

Boston College likes to take games down to the wire. With a high-octane offense featuring eight double-digit scorers, including Apuzzo with her highlight-reel, ankle-breaking goals (even in a faceguard), fans will surely see another tight game Sunday.

In back-to-back games, some of the nation’s top offenses were on display as the Eagles defeated previously undefeated Stony Brook by one in overtime, which featured fellow Tewaaraton finalist Kylie Ohlmiller, and then reigning national champion Maryland by two, which boasted another Tewaaraton finalist and new program goals record holder Megan Whittle.

James Madison also likes to make it interesting. The Dukes have won each of their NCAA tournament games by three goals and have nine double-digit scorers. Its offense likes to run through Katie Kerrigan, who has a team-high 56 assists. North Carolina went from faceguarding Gaudian to facegaurding Kerrigan, yet to no avail.

“Recognize that you can't just take out one player to beat JMU,” Klaes-Bawcombe said.

Coaches’ Corner

James Madison coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe on going to the national championship with her alma mater:

“It's a long time coming – 20 years of really hard work to establish myself to be able to even get back to [JMU]. It's a great program. I had to get myself to a level that they respected, and even in order to even be hired. I didn't even get it in my first attempt. I got it my second attempt. I'm just really proud of everything that comes along with it. I've always wanted to win championships and it means so much more for me to be doing it with James Madison.”

Boston College coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein on beating her alma mater Maryland for the first time in program history to advance to the final:

“It feels good. They're such a historical team. I played there. I know exactly what those girls are made of and what those coaches are like. [Maryland coach] Cathy [Reese] is a mentor and one of the heroes in my life. It's a big deal and I'm just proud of the girls for working so hard throughout the year. Being in the ACC really prepares us. I think we were prepared for today, but it was going to take everything we had.”