WICHITA, Kan. — Back in mid-February, Boston College Club opened the 2025 season with a trip south to play in Georgia’s Big Dawgs Tournament. The host Bulldogs handed the Eagles a season-opening 16-8 loss, one of 12 games this season in which Georgia’s high-octane offense scored 15 goals or better.
Friday in Wichita, the teams met again in the national semifinals of the USA Lacrosse WCLA Division I championship tournament, and this time, a suffocating BC defense limited Georgia to its lowest scoring output of the year as the Eagles prevailed 9-6.
BC (13-3) faces defending champion UCLA in Saturday’s championship game at 12 p.m. Central with a chance to claim its third WCLA title in four years.
“Georgia has been our top competitor for years now, and they are a great team,” said BC’s senior midfielder Amelia Livingston, who tallied two goals and an assist. “We love playing them because they challenge us. They are great athletes, and they make us better athletes.”
A quick start in Friday’s game proved to be the difference, as BC built a 4-0 lead midway through the first quarter and never trailed. All-American attacker Megan Chase did most of the early damage, accounting for three of the goals. By the end of the quarter, BC led 5-1 and had successfully throttled a Georgia attack that scored 33 goals through the first two games of the tournament.
Defenders Lindsay French and Catherine Nidds led the BC defense, consistently forcing turnovers and neutralizing Georgia’s attacker of the year Kayleigh Page, who finished scoreless. Senior goalie Finley Collins anchored the unit and finished with eight saves.
Leading 9-3 to start the fourth quarter, BC began to stretch out its possessions in order to take time off the clock (there's no shot clock used in WCLA games). Livingston had the ball on her stick for much of the delay game.
“It’s always hard because you know they are putting their full pressure on us in order to get the ball back,” Livingston said. “It’s just about being really smart with the ball and keeping possession. We just have to rely on our legs, our grit, and our determination.”
Georgia did tally three goals in the fourth quarter, including the second and third of the game by junior Mia Pisani, but the mountain proved to be too high to climb. Livingston and the Eagles effectively killed the final three minutes with their version of keep away.
After back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023, BC returns to the title game with a relatively new line-up as it seeks its third championship.
“This team is very different from those championship teams,” Livingston said. “Last year was a bit of a rebuilding year, but we now have a lot of talent again all across the field. This team is really special.”
In the second semifinal, UCLA moved one step closer to successfully defending its title by downing Clemson, 14-4. Leading 4-3 after one quarter, the Bruins dominated the final three quarters to remain undefeated, improving to 16-0.
All-American Caroline Underwood had three goals and two assists to lead UCLA, with Marian Macatula also adding three goals. Kaitlyn Bray and Amelia Anhalt finished with two goals each.
Lacrosse Specialties, Here We Flo, Powell Lacrosse, Gatorade, and GoLive Sports serve as 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.
