Painful loss for Boston College in national semifinal game

FOXBORO Reaching a national championship contest is never a fait accompli Boston College had certainly made it look like such when it comes to women s lacrosse but saw its modern streak of success snapped Friday night Junior attackman Madison Taylor sniped four goals and assisted on the game-clincher late as third-seeded Northwestern stormed back from a five-goal fourth quarter deficit to stun the second-ranked Eagles - at Gillette Stadium I know you can t really see it from the outside but this company came a really long way stated Boston College coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein I m proud of the standard that they held the leaders that they became and they re leaving BC lacrosse in a great place and a place it can be proud of Not the ending that we desired but I m still very proud of our club and all the leaders Excluding the COVID year in Boston College - had been dominating the scene reaching the final each season since and winning the title last spring Northwestern - struck for three consecutive goals to open play Taylor got things going for the Wildcats with a goal before Niki Miles netted a pair herself as the Eagles suddenly identified themselves trailing - with to play in the first quarter Then BC clawed back with a vengeance Davis ended the scoring drought for the Eagles as she sniped a goal with to go in the opening stanza before Clark buried a pair as well as their squad trimmed things back to - after a quarter Boston College attack Brooke McLoy right gets the ball knocked away by Northwestern defender Samantha White on Friday at Gillette Stadium BC fell in the national semifinal - Staff Photo By Stuart Cahill Boston Herald Then the two budding rivals engaged in a chess match spanning until halftime trading goals throughout the second stanza With remaining in the half former Rivers School star Mallory Hasselbeck darted upfield and was leveled as she uncorked a shot for BC The attempt still whistled into the cage providing the Eagles a - lead After BC took a - advantage into the break the Eagles opened things up in the third quarter scoring four straight Davis completed her third hat trick of the season as she scored a breakaway goal in transition to provide BC a commanding - lead At that point it appeared the Eagles were going to cruise onward Not so fast Led by Taylor Northwestern staged a rally for the ages in the final frame tallying six unanswered goals of its own The junior attackman had two tallies herself during the sequence Then with remaining the junior fed a pass to a swooping Sam Smith who netted the go-ahead goal in stunning fashion as the Wildcats jumped in front - BC would have one final opportunity after forcing a turnover in the waning seconds but a shot attempt from Mia Mascone was corralled by Delaney Sweitzer to seal the conquest for Northwestern Northwestern's Emerson Bohlig celebrates her goal with Madison Taylor during a - win over Boston College in a national semifinal women's lacrosse match Stuart Cahill Boston Herald Taylor also added four assists to pace Northwestern which will now face top-ranked North Carolins for it all Sunday Miles and Riley Campbell added two goals apiece for the Wildcats I think to have that consecutive success like that right now in this day and age with all the parity and how good all these other teams are I think it really speaks to the heritage revealed Walker-Weinstein That trickles down year-to-year and I give my coaching staff so much credit Davis three goals two assists Clark three goals and Emma LoPinto carried the Eagles offensively while goaltender Shea Dolce eclipsed career saves this season only the second contestant in Boston College history to accomplish the feat With Northwestern clinching a trip to the final a insufficient locals will also be going The Wildcats boast a roster featuring former Massachusetts athletes such as Alex Blake Medfield Jane Hansen Cohasset Cara Nugent Governor s Academy and Kate Keller Newburyport Northwestern coach Kelly Amonte Hiller hails from Hingham She was thrilled to see the festivities continue It feels unbelievable to have a long weekend at Gillette Stadium reported Amonte Hiller Really grateful for the people that are hosting Harvard University and all the people from the NCAA making it special It s a really unbelievable thing for the men and the women to be together in a stadium like this I think it brings a lot of attention to our sport at a critical time for college athletics It s fun to be a part of it in your hometown