Boston College women's lacrosse takes home NCAA championship
The Boston College Eagles celebrate after defeating the Syracuse Orange in the 2021 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship at Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sunday in Towson, Md. Credit: Getty Images/Patrick Smith
As a fifth-year senior, Mineola’s Cara Urbank had experienced all three of Boston College’s previous appearances on the country’s grandest stage. In each instance, the final outcome continuously proved to be heartbreak.
But on their fourth consecutive trip, Urbank and the Eagles ultimately secured the elusive final victory on Sunday, delivering the women’s lacrosse program its first-ever national title.
Urbank was one of four Long Island natives on No. 4 Boston College to net two goals, and Charlotte North led the way with six of her own in a record-setting performance as the Eagles defeated No. 3 Syracuse, 16-10, at Towson University’s Johnny Unitas Stadium to win the NCAA national championship.
"Those losses really taught us a lot," Boston College coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said. "We were destroyed by it temporarily. But we picked up the pieces and we had to pivot here and there and make different decisions and persist and stay together and find new ways to win. And Jill [Reilly] and Cara were the leaders of that."
Garden City’s Jenn Medjid had two goals and one assist and Courtney Weeks of Bayport also added two goals. A pair of juniors, Medjid and Weeks were each part of the most recent BC team that lost the national title game in 2019 as freshmen.
Freshman Belle Smith of Westhampton also played a pivotal role for BC with two goals and two assists, while Weeks’ twin sister, Cassidy, tacked on a goal as well. Rachel Hall had nine saves for the Eagles (18-3).
Scoring her 101st goal of season with 16:39 remaining, North surpassed the previous NCAA Division I single-season record of 100 set in 2016 by Stony Brook’s Courtney Murphy, a Shirley product. North’s goal extended BC’s lead to 13-9.
North also entered the day with the record for goals scored in an NCAA Tournament with 25, finishing with a mark of 31 after netting her 102nd goal of the season with 1:11 to go.
"I'm just thinking about this win today," North said. "It was a full team effort. And that's all I'm thinking about. We put together a full game and Acacia said we were going to come out hungry and play our best for 60 minutes, we were going to win. We believed in that. We believed in each other. We came out on top."
Emma Ward, a freshman from Babylon, fired in a goal with 23 seconds left in the first half to cut BC’s lead to 9-8 entering halftime. She led Syracuse (17-4) with two goals and one assist.
The Eagles proceeded to take over in the second half, outscoring the Orange 7-2 on their way to hoisting the championship plaque. Syracuse had won two of three previous meetings with BC, including a matchup in the ACC semifinals.
One of the game’s major turning points occurred with 11 minutes remaining in the first half, when Emma Tyrrell a key midfielder from Mt. Sinai who scored a goal, was disqualified after picking up her second yellow card of match. Her sister, Meaghan, recorded one goal and one assist.
"I'm so happy," North said. "I'm so proud, and it's a credit to all of my teammates. This is the best team in the country. And we have the best coaching staff in the entire world."
