NCAA Tournament Bracket
CARY, N.C. (theACC.com) – Boston College won its second women’s lacrosse national championship on Sunday afternoon, rallying to defeat Northwestern, 14-13, in the 2024 NCAA Championship Game at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina. The No. 2 seed Eagles (20-3) trailed 6-0 after one quarter but battled back to knock off the No. 1 seed and reigning NCAA champion Wildcats and earn their second title in four seasons (2021).
ACC programs have won 18 national championships since the NCAA Tournament began in 1983. Since the league began sponsoring women's lacrosse in 1997, ACC teams have now won 13 national championships, with 51 national semifinal appearances and 28 championship game appearances. BC played in its seventh straight national championship game.
Boston College women’s lacrosse is the ACC's sixth team national champion this season. The ACC also has brought home titles in women's cross country (NC State), field hockey (North Carolina), women’s soccer (Florida State), men’s soccer (Clemson) and women's swimming & diving (Virginia).
Kayla Martello scored five goals for Boston College and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Rachel Clark scored a pair of goals and dished out four assists. Shea Dolce made nine saves for the Eagles, but none bigger than her incredible kick save on a point-blank shot from Dylan Amonte with just 28 seconds remaining.
Martello was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Clark, Dolce, Mckenna Davis and Emma LoPinto. Syracuse’s Kate Mashewske and Delaney Sweitzer also earned spots on the team.
BC trailed 6-0 after one quarter but slowly chipped away at the Wildcats’ lead. Martello scored four straight BC goals in the quarter as the Eagles cut the deficit to two, 8-6, at halftime. BC twice cut the lead to one in the third quarter, but Northwestern answered each time and pushed the lead back to two, 11-9, on an Izzy Scane goal with 14:19 left in the fourth.
Boston College scored four straight goals to take its first lead, which it did not relinquish. Clark scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 11 with 11:05 remaining, and Andrea Reynolds scored with 9:39 left for a 12-11 edge. Martello scored her fifth goal with 5:55 remaining.
The Eagles also avenged one of their three losses of the regular season. Northwestern defeated BC, 14-11, on Feb. 29 in Newton, Massachusetts.
The ACC has had at least one school in the national semifinals in 34 straight tournaments and in 38 of the 40 NCAA Tournaments all-time, dating to 1983, totaling 17 national championships. With BC reaching the title game, an ACC team played in the national title game for the 14th time in the last 15 tournaments.
2024 NCAA Tournament Results
Friday, May 10 - First Round
at No. 7 Notre Dame 24, Coastal Carolina 6
at No. 5 Virginia 21, LIU 6
Loyola Maryland 16, Duke 11 (in Philadelphia, Pa.)
Florida 17, North Carolina 8 (in Charlottesville, Va.)
Sunday, May 12 - Second Round
at No. 2 Boston College 21, Princeton 16
Michigan 15, at No. 7 Notre Dame 14
Florida 13, at No. 5 Virginia 8
at No. 3 Syracuse 15, Stony Brook 10
Thursday, May 16 - Quarterfinals
at No. 3 Syracuse 19, No. 6 Yale 9
at No. 2 Boston College 14, Michigan 9
Friday, May 24 - NCAA Semifinals
WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, N.C.
No. 2 Boston College 10, No. 3 Syracuse 7
Sunday, May 26 - NCAA Championship
WakeMed Soccer Park, Cary, N.C.
No. 2 Boston College 14, No. 1 Northwestern 13