No Hard Feelings: BC, Northwestern Foes Now U20 Teammates

Shea Baker and Madison Taylor shared a brief hug in the handshake line following Boston College’s 14-13 comeback win over Northwestern in the NCAA women’s lacrosse championship game.

After matching up head-to-head for the final three quarters of the title game, it was a gesture of respect. Of congratulations and of empathy.

And of recognition that the two would be working toward the same goal in a few short weeks.

Baker, the BC defender, and Taylor, the Northwestern attacker, play together for the 2024 U.S. Women’s U20 Team.

Twenty-two were chosen to represent the United States in the World Lacrosse Women’s U20 Championship in Hong Kong, China, in August. The final tryout came only three weeks after the NCAA final.

“We’re glad to have each other and have the opportunity to be on the same team,” Taylor said. “Why this is so cool is because everyone gets to be on the same team and we probably would have never played with each before that, or even known each other.”

Baker and Taylor got plenty familiar with each other in the national title game. After Taylor scored twice to help Northwestern jump out to the 6-0 lead, the Eagles changed up their defensive matchups and put Baker on her.

“I’ve always looked up to Maddy,” Baker said of the Tewaaraton Award finalist. “She’s crushing it. And to go from matching up with her in the biggest game of our lives and then having her on my team and learning more about her as a player and as a person is amazing. I remember meeting her at the first training camp, and I was like, ‘She’s so cool.’ It’s awesome to have her on my side of the coin on the U.S. in the red, white and blue.”

Taylor finished off a hat trick in the third quarter, but ultimately Baker and the BC defense slowed down Northwestern’s attack enough to mount the rally in one of the best championship games in history. When they reconvene, it will be as teammates, as both seek to make the final cut and help the U.S. team repeat as world champion.

“I’m just excited to see [my teammates] and maybe get to know them a little better than I did before,” Taylor said. “Shea was guarding me, so I have a lot of respect for her. She’s a great player.”

Baker and Taylor are just some of the familiar faces that will come together, many after they went head-to-head during the college season. Of the 42 players to make it from last summer’s first U20 tryout, 13 total had connections to BC or Northwestern, including a pair of recruits still finishing high school.

The Eagles’ title game comeback might not have held up were it not for a last-minute save by goalie Shea Dolce, who also plays for the U.S. U20 women.

“I play against all these girls all year, so having the chance to come together and play with them again, it’s something that I’ve been looking forward to all season,” Dolce said. “It’s just a cool experience coming off this high. It couldn’t get any better than this.”

With World Lacrosse increasing the age limit from U19 to U20, more players with college experience are in the national team pool. And with so many coming from the top teams in the country, they’ve established rivalries that now they must put aside.

The script was flipped when the players met last summer. Northwestern’s players came to tryouts riding the momentum of running away from BC for the crown.

“They were on the other side of it last year,” Taylor said. “We both know how it feels.”

Baker and Taylor figure to match up against each other at times in training camp. They have gotten to know each other’s tendencies.

“Those tryouts are always a gauntlet,” Baker said. “But every time you get beat, you learn.”

Both Baker and Dolce came through the National Team Development Program. Thirty-one of the 42 U20 training team members played for a USA Select team in high school. Taylor was not among them. She credited coach Kelly Amonte Hiller for integrating players with different levels of international experience.

“She made it a rule to get outside your comfort zone,” Taylor said. “You need to hear that sometimes. Everyone is going to buy into that. We’ll be just fine.”