At nigh noon today, the 40th NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse championship will take place. We’ve got two championship-winning sides looking for supremacy after a season of winning efforts, new contenders, and countermeasures against great offenses:
NORTHWESTERN v. BOSTON COLLEGE
The obvious: These teams have met each other only six times, with each team winning three matches. The last time they met was on Feb. 19th, with Northwestern winning 15-14
The not-so-obvious: Both head coaches — BC’s Acacia Walker-Weinstein and Northwestern’s Kelly Amonte-Hiller — are part of the Cindy Timchal coaching tree, both having played for the University of Maryland. It is easy to forget, however, that Walker-Weinstein was an assistant at Northwestern for four years
Key players: NU: Izzy Scane (gr., a), Erin Coykendall, (sr., a), Hailey Rhatigan (gr., a), Madison Taylor (fr., a), Samantha Smith (so, c), Samantha White (so., d), Molly Laliberty (gr., g). BC: Jenn Medjid (gr., a), Shea Dolce (fr., g), Kayla Martello (jr., a), Cassidy Weeks (gr., m), Belle Smith (jr., m)
BC wins this game if: if Shea Dolce gets more than six or seven saves by halftime. She is one of those goaltenders who tends to get inside the heads of opposing shooters.
NU wins this game if: they give the ball to Scane and get out of the way. The Scane Train and faithful lieutenants are a group of wonderful players who were able to solve the Denver defense on Friday. I can’t see how Boston College can keep Northwestern from scoring more than their usual 15 goals
The unanswered questions: Will pace and rhythm mean anything to the coaching staffs? I have a feeling this is going to be an all-out track meet, and I think there are going to be a lot of yellows thrown in this game. I think at least one star player will not finish this game because of an accumulation of caution cards
