Two of NCAA women’s lacrosse’s top teams meet in a national championship rematch tomorrow.
The GIST: One of the sport’s spiciest rivalries will add another chapter tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET with a rematch of the 2023 national championship game on ESPNU. A Top-3 showdown this early in the season? Non-conference play is serving up a treat.
The contenders: No. 3 Northwestern wiped the floor with nearly every opponent en route to last year’s natty (their program’s eighth), thanks largely to two Tewaaraton Award (lax’s MVP) finalists, attackers Izzy Scane and Erin Coykendall — both of whom are back this season. However, the ’Cats have already suffered an upset, allowing Boston College to claim the top spot in the poll.
- BC is a women’s lax blueblood notorious for struggling to close the deal: The Eagles competed in the last six national title games but only brought home the trophy in 2021. It’s more frustrating than literally anything Tom Sandoval does.
The matchup: This rivalry is relatively new — they’ve met just five times, including twice last year — but it’s become very heated. Northwestern won the 2023 regular-season bout 15–14, their narrowest win last year. However, the rematch in the national final was a brutal 18–6 beatdown that certainly has the host Eagles hungry for revenge.
- Tomorrow will likely come down to offensive firepower vs. poise. This season BC’s outscored their five opponents by a jaw-dropping average of 14 goals, but they’ve faced just one ranked squad. Meanwhile, this will be the Wildcats’ third Top-10 matchup in five games. Let’s dance.
