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No. 2 Boston College Women's Lacrosse Falls to No. 3 Northwestern in NCAA Semifinals

Originally posted on Boston College Eagles on SI
By Graham Dietz | Last updated May 23, 2025 9:57 PM ET

FOXBOROUGH — If one thing is certain about Boston College women’s lacrosse coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein, it is that she knows how to repeat success. Since 2018, the Eagles have made seven consecutive NCAA Division 1 National Championship appearances.

That pattern changed on Friday night, however, as the No. 2 Eagles (19-3) surrendered a five-goal lead going into the final quarter of regulation against No. 3 Northwestern (19-2) in the 2025 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse semifinals. BC ultimately fell, 12-11, because of the six unanswered goals it gave up, along with getting shutout in the final quarter entirely.

The Eagles faced an early 4-1 deficit due to a quick two-goal effort from Niki Miles along with tallies from the NCAA record holder in single-season goals, Madison Taylor—which she officially clinched with BC’s elimination—and Riley Campbell.

Taylor entered the contest leading the nation with 105 goals and added four in the game, increasing her total to 109 and counting with one game remaining. BC’s Rachel Clark finished the season with 106, trailing shortly behind.

The Eagles didn’t let the Wildcats’ three-goal lead deter them from a comeback, however. Of the next seven goals, BC recorded six, pulling away with a 7-5 lead going into the final minute of the second quarter.

THAT'S A HEATER ☄️

Mallory Hasselbeck extends the lead to 7-5 for the Eags in the second! pic.twitter.com/HiPV0rJzvr
— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) May 23, 2025

After a long offensive possession for the Eagles, Shea Dolce gave up a goal with 9.6 seconds remaining in the first half to make the Wildcats’ deficit just one goal.

BC pulled away in the second half of the third quarter, piling onto its lead with four goals in a seven-minute span to make it 11-6 going into the fourth. In the process, Mckenna Davis registered her third hat trick of the year.

The third frame also marked the fourth time all year—and the first time since March 27 against North Carolina—that Northwestern failed to score a goal in a quarter.

With her eighth save at the 11:28 mark of the fourth, Dolce became the second goalie in BC history to generate 200 saves in a single season, but the remainder of the quarter didn’t go as smoothly.

After giving up six unanswered goals, Walker-Weinstein took a timeout with 3:30 remaining in to settle down her squad. Dolce had previously come up with a massive save on a Taylor free-position attempt, trapping the ball to her right to keep the Eagles’ deficit at one.

A Niki Miles turnover with two minutes remaining seemingly gave the Eagles their last hope, and BC advanced the ball into Northwestern’s defensive territory. But the Eagles lost possession with 1:24 left on the clock, still down 12-11.

With 20 seconds remaining, Shea Baker retrieved the ball from a Riley Campbell turnover, a miraculous gift which blessed BC with its final shot at tying the game and hoping for overtime.

But a final stop by Sweitzer with four seconds left cut off the remaining circulation, as the Wildcats’ bench sprung up into action and dashed onto the field in celebratory fashion.