No. 1 Boston College Lacrosse Demolishes Loyola Maryland in Season Opener

The reigning national champions started off the 2025 slate with an emphatic thumping of a top 10 foe.

Boston College attacker Rachel Clark against No. 8 Loyola | Boston College Women's Lacrosse Twitter/X | @BCwlax

As the reigning national champions and preseason No. 1 ranked team in just about every poll in existence, fans expected Boston College to start the year off strong. They may not have expected them to start this strong, though.

On Friday, Boston College thumped No. 8 ranked Loyola Maryland 21-7. Forget doubling up. The Eagles tripled up a team that many believe to have a heavy postseason presence later on this Spring. How they did it, though, might be the most impressive part.

Before Loyola Maryland even found the back of the net, Boston College already possessed a 5-0 lead. The fast start allowed BC to never ponder looking back. The lead only grew from Loyola Maryland’s 5-1 answer, and the Eagles were off to the races.

Senior attacker Rachel Clark led all scorers with a whopping seven goals of her own, followed closely by fellow senior attacker Emma LoPinto with six. Those two alone could have beaten Loyola Maryland, but no. Seven more Eagles found their way into the scoring column, all scoring one goal a piece aside from sophomore attacker Molly Driscoll, who scored a pair of goals in the affair.

Before the game, head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein said that this group of seniors still have a lot to play for and that they still posess the same amount of hunger that brought last year's team to glory.

"The hunger is there," said Walker-Weinstein. "Maybe even more so than other years, this senior class had such a dominant group of seniors ahead of them for three years."

Perhaps the most impressive evidence of that hunger, though, is the team's desire to press the issue on the offensive end. Boston College attempted a total of 29 shots on goal to Loyola Maryland’s 15. Not only was the defensive pressure evident, but the relentless offensive onslaught proved to wear down Loyola Maryland over time.

Clark and LoPinto, two seniors who definitely looked starved for a season opening win, spearheaded that effort with a combined 16 shots on goal between the two of them.

If the Eagles are still hungry, they have another chance to play with their food on Sunday, as the team takes to the road to take on Boston University in a heated rivalry matchup for the season's second scheduled game. That contest begins at noon ET.