By Dylan Hand, Contributing Writer
The women’s lacrosse team suffered a tough 20-7 loss to No. 4-ranked Boston College on Saturday, April 18. After the game, the team honored six seniors: Becca Graves, Kayleigh Hinkle, Emma Kriss, Brook McGillis, Rachael Nock and Laura Puccia.
One of the lone bright spots for the ‘Cats was junior attacker Laura McHoul, who broke the school record of 101 career assists. McHoul entered the game with 99 career helpers, two shy of the school record of 101 held by Karen Geromini. With 11 seconds left in the first half, the junior dodged from the top of the zone and found Hinkle open in the middle, who turned and fired to make the score 8-5 in favor of BC. The assist made McHoul only the second Wildcat to join the 100-assist club. McHoul tied the record late in the second half when she connected with Nicole Grote for a score at 9:32. Less than two minutes later, McHoul dodged down the alley and found Krissy Schafer open inside, and Schafer’s goal gave McHoul her 102nd career assist and the sole possession of the school record.
“It’s really exciting. I love setting up my teammates, and it’s really exciting that I got it,” McHoul said, adding that assists are just as rewarding as goals. “That’s the kind of player that I am, and that’s the way I played in high school too. It’s part of my game.”
Head coach Sarah Albrecht reflected on the milestone and said that it was McHoul’s work ethic that was most impressive.
“She has been a great player for us and she has really come on strong this year, which has been great to see and her development has been awesome. Hopefully she can continue to do that for the next game and into the next season.”
The Wildcats opened the scoring 55 seconds into the game when a pair of seniors, Puccia and Nock, connected for Puccia’s 22nd goal of the year. The Eagles answered quickly with goal from freshman midfielder Kenzie Kent at 26:16 off of a nice cross-crease pass from senior attacker Covie Stanwick. BC took the lead 44 seconds later when Tess Chandler beat the goalie in close on a breakaway to make it 2-1. Stanwick added another goal to take a 3-1 for BC. UNH responded with goals from Schafer and Hinkle to tie the game at three, and that would be the last tie of the game. The Eagles rattled off three goals in 59 seconds to take a 6-3 lead. The teams traded goals in the final three minutes until BC’s 8-4 lead was cut to three by a goal from Hinkle with 11 seconds left in the half.
BC came out firing in the second half as Stanwick scored her fourth goal of the game just 17 seconds in. The Eagles would go on to score the next 10 goals without an answer from the Wildcats. The run of 11 goals in 18:18 was finally stopped when Grote scored off of a McHoul feed at 9:32 of the second half. BC dominated possession in the second half. UNH did not possess the ball in their offensive end in the first three and a half minutes of the half, and BC scored four times during that stretch. The Wildcats scored a pair of goals late in the game, but the Eagles cruised to a 20-7 win. Albrecht was happy with the team’s effort in the first half but noted that it did not carry over into the second half against a very good BC team.
“I think they’re a good team and they keep on going throughout the full 60 minutes. Unfortunately we lacked effort in the beginning of the second half and that really bit us. We have to learn how to fight and do that for 60 minutes,” said Albrecht.
McHoul finished the game with four points to lead the ‘Cats offense, while Hinkle chipped in with two goals and an assist. Hinkle and the other seniors accounted for five of the team’s 12 points on the day and their coach reflected on their careers on Senior Day.
“They’ve put a lot into the program, they’ve helped change the culture of the program and really bought in to everything that we’ve been trying to do the last three years. They’re a great group of kids,” Albrecht said.
The Wildcats dropped to 6-9 after the loss, with one game remaining in the regular season. The team travels to take on the Vermont Catamounts on Saturday, April 25, at 1 p.m. The game is a must-win for the Wildcats, as the winner will earn a spot in the America East Tournament.
