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It’s not quite a full Saturday of women’s lacrosse action, but it’s darn close. Either way, the opening Saturday of the Division I women’s lacrosse season brought us a couple top-20 matchups and saw nine ranked teams in action.

Here’s what went down.

BC DEFENSE SHUTS DOWN NORTHWESTERN

Charlotte North won the first three draws of the game, and Boston College led by three before Northwestern could even touch the ball. While that wasn’t necessarily a sign of things to come, it certainly set the tone for a game that Boston College controlled from start to finish.

No. 4 Northwestern threatened throughout the first half, but No. 1 Boston College ultimately pulled away for an 18-9 season-opening victory against a Wildcats team that played deliberately on offense without star Izzy Scane, who will miss this season with a torn ACL.

North, the 2021 Tewaaraton Award winner, opened 2022 with seven goals and one assist after breaking the single-season goals record with 102 last year. Belle Smith and Caitlynn Mossman each netted hat tricks.

Jill Girardi did the heavy lifting for Northwestern, scoring four goals. She scored three times all of last year. Madison Doucette played admirably, making 12 saves.

Consecutive goals from Erin Coykendall and Carleigh Mahoney got Northwestern within three goals at 9-6 with 9:45 left in the third quarter, but that’s the closest the Cats would get. North took over from there, scoring four of her seven goals in the final 16:15. She twice took on seemingly the entire defense to score.

WURZBURGER LEADS UNC OVER JMU

After spending most of 2021 as North Carolina’s first offensive player off the bench, Caitlyn Wurzburger took her new role in stride to begin 2022. Following the graduation of Katie Hoeg, UNC’s all-time points leader, Wurzburger is now functioning as the quarterback of Jenny Levy’s offense.

Her debut went quite well.

The sophomore led No. 2 UNC with seven points (three goals, four assists) in a 15-8 win over No. 12 James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va., Saturday afternoon. It was the exact type of performance the Tar Heels expected from arguably the top high school girls’ lacrosse player in history.

Although James Madison scored first and trailed just 3-2 after the first quarter, UNC was never threatened. The Tar Heels led 6-2 after Ally Mastroianni fed Wurzburger and 9-3 after Andie Aldave found Nicole Humphrey. Aldave fed Mastroianni with 9:20 left in the fourth quarter for a 13-6 lead.

Despite allowing 15 goals, Molly Dougherty was exceptional. She made 15 saves to at least keep the Dukes within a reasonable deficit for a good portion of the game.

JACKSONVILLE STORMS OUT TO HOT START

Virginia Tech’s Hannah Mardiney scored the first goal of the game but Jacksonville scored the next 10, as the Dolphins were in the driver’s seat in a 15-6 win.

Molly Brock and Sarah Elms led Jacksonville with three goals and one assist each. Grace Hobson contributed three assists, and Jenny Kinsey and Lauren Craft each scored twice. Craft executed perhaps the play of the game.

Overall, nine Dolphins scored to down Virginia Tech in head coach Kristen Skiera’s debut.

NOTABLE

  • Amanda O’Leary told USA Lacrosse Magazine in the preseason that top freshman attacker Emma LoPinto would have to make her presence felt. In her first collegiate game, she notched six goals and two assists to lead all scorers with eight points in No. 10 Florida’s 22-7 win over Kennesaw State. Danielle Pavinelli had four goals and two assists, and Ashley Gonzalez had one goal and four assists. Twelve Gators scored in the win.

  • There’s some hype around No. 16 Rutgers this spring, and the Scarlet Knights started off the campaign well in a 16-8 win over Delaware. Stephanie Kelly, a transfer from Saint Joseph’s had two goals and two assists in her first game with Rutgers, while program staple Taralyn Naslonski had four goals. Marin Hartshorn and Cassidy Spilis each had three goals and both recorded their 100th career draw control.

  • In Kim Hillier’s head coaching debut, No. 17 Drexel started slowly before picking up the pace. Visiting Wagner led by two goals with 12:18 left in the first half before Drexel scored the seven to take control. Lucy Schneidereith led the way with four goals and two assists in an 18-7 Drexel win. Colleen Grady (three goals), Corinne Bednarik (two), Karson Harris (two), Hayleigh Simpson (two) and Allison Drake (two) all scored multiple goals. Harris also had four ground balls, three caused turnovers and five draw controls.

  • Davidson used a seven-goal third quarter to create separation in a 12-8 win over High Point. High Point led 4-1 when Mena Loescher scored with 2:47 left in the first half, but Davidson scored 10 of the next 11 goals. Gianna New scored four times, and Erin Cooke led the team with five points (two goals, three assists). Amanda Monahan made 11 saves.

  • Mount St. Mary’s had never beaten Towson before Saturday. Granted, prior to Saturday, the teams had only played three times and the rivalry was just renewed in 2021. Still, Mount’s 14-11 win over Towson surely still feels sweet. Mount never trailed after tying the score at 5 on Zoe Hurlburt’s goal in the second quarter. Alayna Pagnotta led the way with four goals and two assists, and Dani Donoghue also scored four times. Lindsey Tolliver had one goal and three assists.

  • William & Mary rallied from down two with 6:33 remaining to down Villanova 14-13. Serena Jacobs (three goals) scored the final two goals of the game, with the winner coming with 2:17 left to play. It was Lauren Russell (seven goals, one assist) who scored the first in the game-ending 3-0 run. Elise Palmer made 16 saves for W&M, two of which came after her side took the lead. She even saved a game-tying attempt with one second left.

  • Maryland opened up its highly anticipated season by going on the road and trouncing Saint Joseph’s 20-6 behind five goals from Johns Hopkins transfer Aurora Cordingley. Eloise Clevenger had four assists, and Victoria Hensh had three goals. Maryland thoroughly dominated, holding big advantages on shots (41-20) and shots on goal (34-13).

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 1 Boston College defeated No. 4 Northwestern 18-9
No. 2 North Carolina defeated No. 12 James Madison 15-8
No. 6 Maryland defeated Saint Joseph’s 20-6
No. 10 Florida defeated Kennesaw State 22-7
No. 16 Rutgers defeated Delaware 16-8
No. 17 Drexel defeated Wagner 18-7
No. 18 Jacksonville defeated Virginia Tech 15-6

FULL SCOREBOARD

Butler 11, Kent State 10
Campbell 19, Stetson 8
Canisius 14, Bucknell 12
Davidson 12, High Point 8
East Carolina 13, Radford 4
Fairfield 18, Holy Cross 8
Georgetown 20, American 8
Hofstra 8, LIU 5
Johns Hopkins 15, VCU 6
La Salle 14, Iona 13
Marquette 16, Cincinnati 13
Mount St. Mary’s 14, Towson 11
Ohio State 17, Robert Morris 5
Oregon 14, George Mason 11
Richmond 18, Old Dominion 7
Siena 18, New Hampshire 6
Temple 16, Army 5
UMass 18, UMass Lowell 4
UMBC 21, Longwood 3
USC 18, San Diego State 7
Vanderbilt 18, Liberty 13
Vermont 17, Colgate 8
William & Mary 14, Villanova 13