Boston College

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

I'll always be satisfied with this one. It's a transcendent experience to see your team win a national championship for the first time; especially when there were multiple heartbreaking failures beforehand. This clip begins as the final seconds tick off the clock. The rush of euphoria when the horn finally sounded was meaningful and remarkable for the coaches, players (past and present) as well as the alumni. Always fun to relive these moments.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

Boston College hasn't had a Big who was also a goal scoring threat since Tess Chandler ('18). Mallory Hasselbeck may fit the bill. I don't think it's only camera angle here that shows the disparity in size between 5' 9" Hasselbeck and 5' 3" Hollie Schleicher. Bigs are hard to handle when they go determined to cage. Saw plenty of that last season with 5' 8" Kayla Martello. It's one of the main reasons I believe JMU beat BC in the 2018 national championship. The Dukes may have been slightly less talented but they were certainly bigger.

It's only Hasselbeck's 2nd year at BC and she saw very limited action in her first year, still only a year and bit removed from surgery on a knee. I hope she blossoms into a force. I also hope her sister Annabelle can get to spend more time out there as well. We shall see...

[bobinvaluvswlax]

Saw them play this weekend against Navy, Denver and Villanova. They looked solid. No one player stood out. Medjid, Smith and Hasselback looked good.

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

[BCLax24]

Did anyone have the chance to catch the Eagles scrimmage versus Stanford? The Cardinals are loaded with young talent, I imagine it should’ve made for a pretty competitive game.

[Lax101]

I saw the game. BC won by 4-5. Jumped out to about a 6 goal lead fairly easily. BC played everyone . I think BC might beat them running clock in a real game. BC very balance across the board. Strong defense and good team spend. Need to improve on the draw.

[Lax101]

... team speed

[BCLax24]

I saw the game. BC won by 4-5. Jumped out to about a 6 goal lead fairly easily. BC played everyone . I think BC might beat them running clock in a real game. BC very balance across the board. Strong defense and good team spend. Need to improve on the draw.

Cool, thanks for the response! They definitely project to have a very balanced attack this season. Not surprising that the draw is a work is progress. I’m sure they mixed some different players in and out, but any idea who they had taking them primarily? Mallory Hasselbeck was the main backup to North last season, but I also know they brought in a freshman draw taker, Abbey Herod, who was considered one of the best specialists in the class. Either way, I hope they give at least a couple of different women a chance to shine there throughout the season as opposed to just sticking with one player from day one.

[GratefulRed]

I saw the game. BC won by 4-5. Jumped out to about a 6 goal lead fairly easily. BC played everyone . I think BC might beat them running clock in a real game. BC very balance across the board. Strong defense and good team spend. Need to improve on the draw.

I agree with this assessment, 101. Convincing win despite a few late Stanford goals. As an new fanlax member and rookie BC parent, allow me to add a little color for the faithful. Lots of positives to take away from the Stanford game:
-10+ BC goal scorers
-about half of the BC goals were assisted
-BC rolled ~10 players circle/dot and won ~50%
-in the short scrimmages: Stanford tied Harvard, BC beat Harvard by 8 or 9 (for what it's worth)
-notable Stanford players: #44 defense. 9 and 33 were primary scorers (almost all off the dodge) and also solid on the circle. Freshman #25 showed promise at the draw.

Full marks to the BC lax community on a great fall ball season. Welcoming families, strong tailgate and seemingly successful team development. Fired up!

[watcherinthewoods]

Re Stanford: a fish rots from the head

[nomofogo]

Welcome Grateful Red: Shake and Bake.

[GratefulRed]

You know it, thanks!

[OuttaNowhereWregget]

[GratefulRed]

Starting up the BC feed for 2023
I had the privilege of a ticket to Fish Field House for the opener, standing tucked tight against the wall with many new friends. The speed and power of the athletes at field level was awesome. No major surprises overall between the lines as BC handled their business. Still, some game notes for the faithful:
• Defense - as advertised - Granted, the USC offense was predictable, but they struggled to even sniff the dangerous scoring areas. When they did, goaltending was on point. Goalies appear to be pushing one another in a very positive way. Freshman #88 SD rewarded with 4th qtr action.
• Draw-BC won over 60% . Did a nice job of working in freshman #15 AH at the dot and keeping personnel on the circle fresh.
• Midfield – dominant performance all over the field. Smothering ride (attack contributed great energy to that effort) forced turnovers and sparked transition. Not a ton of goal production from the midfield but they were dangerous and definitely stressed the USC defense all over the formation.
• Offense – over half the BC goals were assisted. Offense was dynamic if not operating at mid-season efficiency. Lots of grade-A chances but shooting percentage probably an area of emphasis this week. USC goalie (transfer from BC) was a gamer and made some big saves in close.
• USC became frustrated and chippy and spent a good deal of the 4th player(s) down. For the most part, I thought BC did a nice job of staying focused and playing through it. Unfortunately, injury to #35 JM was the result of a dangerous play – lower body contact from behind late (I’m not judging intent). I don’t have direct knowledge but there seems to be cautious optimism that she won’t be out for an extended period.
Next up, UMass tomorrow. What else y’all got?

[tothedraw]

BC looked like a team that has not taken long to come together. I know they didn't lose a big starting class but some very key spots were open. Early shooting was UGLY and if North was anything she was a deadly finisher, they missed her ability there. I'm sure that will get ironed out soon enough. I like that the scoring is generated at Attack. Those middies get tired and shooting gets weaker. If you are relying on worn out players at the end of a game to do it all, you are in trouble ( See NU v UNC semi). Also good to get minutes to AH, SD and I think I saw AB in very late. Shae Baker has incredible speed and hands and will hopefully get her chance soon. Did Summer Agostino get in ? Good to hear JM is not lost for season, agreed that was an overly aggressive, unnecessary play by USC. I remember watching one of my favorite Eagles have her college career ended in a similar fashion by Duke and would hate to see that repeated. Looking forward to GratefulRed sideline updates!

[Sunnylax]

BC looked like a team that has not taken long to come together. I know they didn't lose a big starting class but some very key spots were open. Early shooting was UGLY and if North was anything she was a deadly finisher, they missed her ability there. I'm sure that will get ironed out soon enough. I like that the scoring is generated at Attack. Those middies get tired and shooting gets weaker. If you are relying on worn out players at the end of a game to do it all, you are in trouble ( See NU v UNC semi). Also good to get minutes to AH, SD and I think I saw AB in very late. Shae Baker has incredible speed and hands and will hopefully get her chance soon. Did Summer Agostino get in ? Good to hear JM is not lost for season, agreed that was an overly aggressive, unnecessary play by USC. I remember watching one of my favorite Eagles have her college career ended in a similar fashion by Duke and would hate to see that repeated. Looking forward to GratefulRed sideline updates!

Acacia doesn't use her bench well. Crazy that some of those middies play the entire or close to entire game.

[tothedraw]

BC looked like a team that has not taken long to come together. I know they didn't lose a big starting class but some very key spots were open. Early shooting was UGLY and if North was anything she was a deadly finisher, they missed her ability there. I'm sure that will get ironed out soon enough. I like that the scoring is generated at Attack. Those middies get tired and shooting gets weaker. If you are relying on worn out players at the end of a game to do it all, you are in trouble ( See NU v UNC semi). Also good to get minutes to AH, SD and I think I saw AB in very late. Shae Baker has incredible speed and hands and will hopefully get her chance soon. Did Summer Agostino get in ? Good to hear JM is not lost for season, agreed that was an overly aggressive, unnecessary play by USC. I remember watching one of my favorite Eagles have her college career ended in a similar fashion by Duke and would hate to see that repeated. Looking forward to GratefulRed sideline updates!

Acacia doesn't use her bench well. Crazy that some of those middies play the entire or close to entire game.

I don't get many of these coaches not spelling players for a couple minutes at a time with bench, especially early. Winning by 2 or 10 doesn't matter.

[Lax101]

This is misinformation regarding BC middie play. BC played 6 middies most of the game on 2 middie lines that played fairly even. BC did the same thing last year during regular season. In fact sometimes played 3 lines. They will shorten middie lines in tournament but very rarely during regular season. Go back and watch the game and you will see players like the Weeks off the field more then they are on it.

[tothedraw]

This is misinformation regarding BC middie play. BC played 6 middies most of the game on 2 middie lines that played fairly even. BC did the same thing last year during regular season. In fact sometimes played 3 lines. They will shorten middie lines in tournament but very rarely during regular season. Go back and watch the game and you will see players like the Weeks off the field more then they are on it.

If I remember correctly, BC used 4 two way middies regularly. Makenna Davis and I believe Courtney Taylor would sub in when the team was on O and D respectively. Other middies and attack got minutes during the season but need to win games I think they relied on 4 true middies.

Saturday it looked like they used more. Both Weeks, R Smith,AH, Welch, Reynolds and B Smith.

[GratefulRed]

Also good to get minutes to AH, SD and I think I saw AB in very late. Shae Baker has incredible speed and hands and will hopefully get her chance soon. Did Summer Agostino get in ?

Yes, we did see #10 AB get a shift late. I don't believe #11 SA made an appearance.

Looking forward to GratefulRed sideline updates!

Thanks. I'm happy to pitch in from time to time, though I won't be back in the gallery until Duke.

Don't know much about UMass. Identity of the team probably won't change too much with Drummond ascending to HC. I recall tough, physical, responsible D and midfield. Will be interesting to see how Aurora Cordingley influences the offense.

Any scouting intel?