BC edges Navy to advance to first title game in program history

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Boston College women's lacrosse team will play for the 2017 NCAA championship on Sunday following Friday night's 16-15 come-from-behind win over Navy at Gillette Stadium.
 
BC (17-6) will meet top-ranked Maryland at 11 a.m. in the national championship game, marking the first time the lacrosse team has advanced to the final game of the season. BC is the first unseeded team to advance to the championship game since 2003.

RELATED: Full semifinals recap | Maryland dominates Penn State
 
After trailing by three at halftime, Boston College used a 10-goal second half that was keyed by a five-goal run to open the half. Propelled by goals from Mary Kate O'Neill, Kayla O'Connor, Kenzie Kent (two) and Kate Weeks, the Eagles overcame the Midshipmen's halftime advantage and held the lead for the remainder of the game.

When the clock strikes 00.0 and you're gonna play for a National Championship! pic.twitter.com/tsu4NkAXbJ

— BC Women's Lacrosse (@BCwlax) May 27, 2017

Navy (18-5) cut the lead to one at 16-15 with 1:10 on Kelly Larkin's free position goal, but the Eagles maintained possession through a series of Navy fouls as time wore down to secure a berth in Sunday's championship game.
 
In the first half, Navy outshot the Eagles 26-14 while BC goalie Zoe Ochoa made nine saves. The Eagles had a 3-1 lead, but the Midshipmen's two 10-plus minute defensive stands  kept BC off the board. Navy goalkeeper Ingrid Boyum made five point-blank saves in the first to help stifle the Eagles' attack.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• BC opened the game with a 3-1 lead with 24:30 left behind goals from Kenzie Kent, Kaileen Hart and Kayla O'Connor, but Navy came back and netted three straight goals to take a 4-3 lead at 17:40.
• Kenzie Kent's set-up of Kate Weeks at 13:32 broke BC's 11:58 scoreless drought and evened the game at 4-4 at 13:32
• Navy netted four straight goals to extend an 8-4 lead before Emma Schurr converted a Sam Apuzzo pass to break a 10:02 goalless run and pull within three at 8-5.
• Navy's Kelly Larkin pushed the Midshipmen's lead to 9-5 before Kent tallied BC's final goal of the half to pull back within three at 9-6 with eight seconds left.
• Navy goalie Ingrid Boyum made five point-blank saves in the first half to limit the Eagles' attack, while Zoe Ochoa made nine saves in 30:00 of action.
• After Navy clanged a shot off the pipe less than a minute into the second half, the Eagles reeled off five straight goals in 4:10 to take an 11-9 with 24:34 left. Kate Weeks keyed the run with one goal and three assists.
• Navy's Meg O'Donnell snapped BC's run with the Midshipmen's first goal of the half at 22:03, but Apuzzo tallied her first of the game and Kent snapped in her fifth of the contest to extend a three-goal lead at 13-10 with 19:31 left at the under-20 timeout.
• Larkin's tally with 19:18 left cut the Eagles' lead to two at 13-11, but Apuzzo converted a free-position shot to push the lead back to three at 17:07.
• Dempsey Arsenault scored at 15:25 to give the Eagles a 15-12 edge, her first goal since April 28 against North Carolina in the ACC semifinals
• Molly O'Sullivan got Navy within two at 15-13 with her goal at 13:01 but the two teams played scoreless lacrosse for 6:19 before Hart netted a free position shot at 6:42 to stake BC to a three-goal lead again, 16-13. It was the Eagles' final goal of the game
• Coming out of a TV timeout, Navy struck again through Jenna Collins at 6:42 and got the Midshipmen within a pair

What a save. Lauren Daly captures the high look. #NCAAWLax @bcwlax pic.twitter.com/GfrGEF0qJn

— NCAA Lacrosse (@NCAA_Lax) May 27, 2017

• Up a player and down two goals with 2:30 to go, Lauren Daly made a close-range save on Julia Collins to send the Eagles back up the field.
• Following a yellow card to Hannah Hyatt, the Midshipmen's Kelly Larkin tallied her career-high sixth goal of the game to cut the Navy deficit to one with 1:10 left on the clock.
• Kent drew her second of two draw controls to gain the Eagles offensive possession with the clock ticking past the one-minute mark and after a Navy foul, BC came out of a timeout with possession to hold onto the one-goal advance through to the final whistle.