Boston College Captures WCLA D-I Championship in OT

WICHITA, Kan. — It was a game worthy of a national championship.

A tightly contested, high-intensity matchup between two teams with incredible stakes on the line. Fittingly, the well-played contest required overtime to decide a winner.

In the end, the hero was Boston College’s Ally Maguire, who scored unassisted 36 seconds into the extra session to lift the Eagles to an 8-7 victory over UCLA to win the USA Lacrosse WCLA Division I national championship.

Boston College (14-3) claimed its third title in the last four years after also winning the crown in 2022 and 2023.

Maguire, a junior midfielder, won the draw to start overtime, passed the ball ahead, then got it back at the top of the 12-meter arc once BC started its settled offense with an extra-player advantage.

“I was open, caught the pass and knew we could finish the game and win right there,” said Maguire, who dodged left and worked to goal. “I just took a shot and scored. I saw the ball go in, but I don’t remember much besides that.”

Maguire, named the tournament’s most outstanding player, finished with a game-high three goals in addition to handling BC’s draw duties for most of the game. Every possession was critical, none more so than the last one.

“Every draw was so important, and we happened to win that last one,” said Maguire, a freshman on the 2023 championship team. “UCLA is such a good team. We just put it all out there and fought hard all game. It was a fight to the end.”

Boston College entered this year’s tournament as the No. 5 seed, a sharp contrast to 2022 and 2023 when it went back-to-back as the top seed. The Eagles leveraged this year’s underdog position to their benefit.

“This year’s journey was so much different, especially as the lowest seed in the final four,” All-American goalie and team captain Finley Collins said. “We had to work every single game just to get here. We really had nothing to lose and just put it all out there.”

Other than the final shot, BC only had the lead for four minutes all game, taking a one goal advantage late in the third quarter on Kate Donovan’s second goal of the contest. UCLA then knotted the score at 7 on Caroline Underwood’s free-position goal at 12:32 of the fourth quarter.

Both teams had several possessions down the stretch to push across a go-ahead score, but the defenses and the goalies were equal to the task. UCLA’s Kate Ruiz was brilliant for the Bruins, finishing with 10 saves.

Playing her final game as BC’s four-year starter in cage, Collins was equally outstanding, finishing with 10 saves.

“I knew I needed to make some big stops in the second half for us to have a chance to win,” Collins said. “It was kind of back and forth, goalie for goalie.”

As last year’s champion, UCLA finished one goal shy of becoming just the fourth back-to-back champion in WCLA history. The Bruins finish 16-1 on the year and have a 33-2 record over the past two seasons.

With the win, Boston College improved to 3-1 all-time in WCLA championship games and won the first overtime final since Colorado State’s victory in 2008. The 15 combined goals was the third-lowest scoring championship game in the tournament’s 25-year history.

None of that mattered to the Eagles as they celebrated.

“All these girls love playing for each other,” Collins said. “It’s a really special team.”

In the third place game, attackers Kayleigh Page and Mia Pisani both tallied four goals and two assists each to lead Georgia past Clemson 20-10 in a matchup of SWLL rivals. The Bulldogs beat the Tigers for the third time this season and finished the year with a 17-1 record.

Lacrosse Specialties, Here We Flo, Powell Lacrosse, Gatorade, and GoLive Sports were official event sponsors for the 2025 USA Lacrosse WCLA Championships, with local support provided by Wichita Youth Lacrosse, Visit Wichita, and Chicken N Pickle of Wichita. In addition, STX provided support for the Elevate 28 youth clinic.

Saturday’s Scores

3rd Place: Georgia 20, Clemson 10                                                      
5th Place: Utah 15, UC Santa Barbara 8 
7th Place: Florida 12, Central Florida 7
9th Place:  San Diego St 10, Arizona State 9
11th Place: Virginia Tech 9, Michigan 3
13th Place: Northeastern 16, Pittsburgh 11
15th Place: Texas A&M 8, Washington 7