NCAA Rewind: A Remarkable Title-Game Turnaround

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2025 — look out for our NCAA Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings later this summer — our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking a last look at the 2024 college lacrosse season.

To do that, we’re taking a journey through 30 of the top teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse to see what went right, what went wrong and how we should feel about the season.

BOSTON COLLEGE

USA Lacrosse preseason/final ranking: No. 2/No. 1
2024 record: 20-3 (7-2 ACC)

What went right: Make room in the trophy case. The 2024 Eagles blended several marquee transfers, like Becky Browndorf, Rachel Clark and Emma LoPinto, with a talented core of returners, including midfielder Belle Smith, defender Sydney Scales and sophomore goalie Shea Dolce. This formula ultimately added up to two new pieces of coveted hardware taking up real estate in Chestnut Hill.

The first, a second ACC tournament title, came in a 15-8 win over Syracuse in a game Boston College initially trailed 5-1. After beating the Orange again in the final four, the Eagles secured an NCAA championship rematch against Northwestern, the team that dominated them 18-6 in the final in 2023 (and beat them 14-11 in the regular season). 

The title-game berth was the seventh straight for Boston College, which entered the matchup with one NCAA crown to show for it (2021). It looked like it would be déjà vu all over again for the Eagles when Northwestern scored the game's first six goals. But BC came from behind once again, getting five goals from Kayla Martello and the save of the century from Dolce to become the last team standing for the second time. 

What went wrong: It feels nitpicky at this point to go there, but Boston College sustained one-goal losses to Notre Dame (March 16) and Virginia (13-12). The Eagles have had some regular-season setbacks over the last three years — remember, they won the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed in 2021. 

So, the Eagles gave us some of the usual, losing some games they should have won and learning from them to peak at the right time.

Season highlight: It wasn’t just that the Eagles won the national championship. It was how they did it — rallying from an early hole against a team that essentially ran them off the field a year prior. Dolce may not remember her kick save against Dylan Amonte in the waning moments, but the rest of the lacrosse world will remember that beauty. 

In the end, Acacia Walker-Weinstein — who has famously put Boston College’s previous championship losses solely on her shoulders — fell to the ground, hand on her head after the buzzer sounded and confetti started to fall. The losses hardened and motivated the Eagles, and the pent-up emotion spilled onto the field, with 2023’s loss far in the rearview mirror.

Verdict: It was a complete success, only made sweeter by the regular-season losses and previous NCAA championship heartbreak. Seniors like Belle Smith bookended their careers with national championships. 

While their tassels are turned, stars like Clark, Dolce and LoPinto return in 2025. Expect that the Eagles will be an early favorite to repeat.