Lacrosse

The golden touch of Ryan Fieldhouse may have finally worn out.

No. 1 Boston College handed No. 9 Northwestern its first home defeat of the season Saturday night. In what was a largely a neck-and-neck game, with just over eight minutes left to play in the second half, the Eagles (8-0) pulled away with a seven-goal lead from the Wildcats (4-3) and never looked back, eventually winning 22-17.

NU seemed to have no answer for Boston College attacker Sam Apuzzo. Apuzzo commanded significant attention on offense while racking up 12 draw controls, just two fewer than the Cats’ entire team total. The star attacker won last season’s Tewaaraton Award, handed out annually to the most outstanding women’s lacrosse player in the country.

“(Apuzzo) is pretty good at the draw. She did a great job tonight as she always does,” NU coach Kelly Amonte Hiller said. “That’s why she was Player of the Year last year, so we need to be able to figure that out and come up with draws and make plays when we need them. We made some plays, but we weren’t able to come up with enough draws to get that momentum for us.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Krupnick earned her third double-digit save game of the season. Krupnick’s six first-half saves were a large reason NU stuck around in the game despite the Eagles having a five-shot advantage.

Krupnick seems to have solidified her spot as the Cats’ starting goalkeeper. When asked about the goalkeeper’s performance after the game, Amonte Hiller said she had faith in Krupnick despite Boston College going on a few scoring runs.

“I think (Krupnick) did great. I just think she’s always someone we can count on,” sophomore midfielder Brennan Dwyer said. “No matter what state we are in the game she’s just a really key player for our team, and she’s always got the defense’s back.”

On the other end of the field, senior attacker Selena Lasota put up her most impressive performance of the season. Lasota produced a season-high seven points to go along with her extremely efficient .833 shot percentage.

Junior midfielder Lindsey McKone said Lasota’s performance served as an energy booster to the entire team.

“(Lasota) is the most exciting player in the game,” McKone said. “Every time she scores, it’s a complete momentum shift. It’s so awesome to see her thriving like this.”

Saturday night also marked the end of NU’s play at Ryan Fieldhouse, with the remaining games this season are set to take place outdoors. The Cats seemed to thrive off the crowd’s energy and finished with a 3-1 record at the Fieldhouse. Tickets to the Boston College game sold out a day in advance, and no walk-up tickets were available on game day.

Dwyer said the Fieldhouse has proved to be an x-factor for NU this season.

“I think (Ryan Fieldhouse) was really a huge advantage for us to be able to be inside as opposed to last year when we were outside a bunch,” Dwyer said. “I just think it’s nice that we don’t have to worry about the cold, and people have to come here into this amazing facility, and it’s just really great we got to practice here everyday and play our games.”

Email: [email protected]