2021 NCAA WOMEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 30, 2021

Acacia Walker-Weinstein

Boston College Eagles

Media Conference

Boston College - 16, Syracuse - 10

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: I'm so proud of the team. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such incredible people. The players have been remarkable this year, despite all the adversity. To see them finish the job on behalf of the school, each other, all the alums, all the classes that got here, that we couldn't win before, all of this is for them.

And all the administrators, everybody, all the inches that were around us, it took everything. We had a dream a long time ago that we were going to win a championship, and people told us we were crazy. And we just did it. So I'm really proud.

Q. I know you mentioned the alums who came before, but I think Cara and Jillian are the two players on your team who have played in the championship game four times. What was it like for you seeing them after all that heartbreak finally get it done?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: Yeah, you know, I think we just -- those losses really taught us a lot. We were destroyed by it temporarily. But we picked up the pieces and we had to pivot here and there and make different decisions and persist and stay together and find new ways to win. And Jill and Cara were the leaders of that.

And I think it was all a part of the process. I mean, I talked to Jerry York after the 2019 loss, and he's the winningest hockey coach ever. And he just said to trust the process; that all these things are about the process. And at some point, at the right time, divine timing will come in, and things will fall into place.

So Jill and Cara are the leaders of that. And Charlotte was a blessing to our program. And she fits in perfectly with those two.

Q. In the second half, you limit them to two goals. I think for the first 15 minutes they got off one shot, you forced six turnovers or something like that. What did you see out of your defense in the second half that really was able to kind of put this game away?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: We have to play an aggressive attack with an even more aggressive defense. And they slid on a string. They communicated well. They were aggressive. They attacked the weave.

We had a hyper-awareness of their top players. And our goaltending was amazing. Rachel was really focused today. And we have to be excellent to stop the Syracuse offense, especially that weave that's close to impossible to stop.

Q. Were you feeling as much relief as you were exhilaration when that clock ran down to double zero?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: No, no relief. No relief. Just pure joy. Excitement. And really I just -- I found Cara Urbank, and we met eyes and, like, we both started to cry. It was just happiness. No relief.

Q. Talk about the first half. It was a tale of two halves. That first half was as competitive a half of women's lacrosse I've ever seen.

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, it's the national championship. It's Syracuse. It's Gary Gait and Meaghan Tyrrell, and all those girls, it's going to be a battle. I tried to get the girls to focus on the lacrosse and not think too emotionally and their head in the clouds. I wanted their feet on the ground and be grounded and focus on lacrosse. We knew it was going to be competitive.

Q. There's obviously a big shift at halftime. But another smaller shift was early in the game when Syracuse went on that 3-0 run and you guys -- suddenly your gears started clicking; it was a very competitive game. What was the transition there? Did you change anything in the timeout or anything like that?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: No, we just told the girls to trust each other a little bit more. And to work together and to have each other's backs. And they did that. I think there was a little bit of hesitancy in the beginning. But really there weren't -- we were ready for adjustments. And our adjustments to our adjustments. But we didn't need them. We just needed to be grounded in our original game plan. And the girls did that.

Q. I know you said you weren't relieved, but you could see on the cameras, on ESPN, like after Charlotte scores to seemingly ice the win at 16-10, there's still a minute left and you're not letting yourself smile, I know it was really hard for you. How much was it I need to see zeros on that clock before I sit here feeling that sense of elation?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: Yeah, it's exactly what we needed. And I think we just wanted to finish strong. The whole season we've been making these girls make all these sacrifices and do all these things. And I just wanted to finish the game right. With a minute left on the clock, it still wasn't over. I just wanted them to do things right all the time and to finish the game with one minute.

Q. You mentioned that people might have said you were crazy saying BC could win a national championship back in 2012, 2013, because this wasn't a program that was at this level. What was it that made you see this potential in BC?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: Playing in the ACC is a huge thing. And honestly, it was a dream that I've had since I was a little girl. And I feel lucky to be at Boston College, to be able to get that opportunity. But being in the ACC and then all the support that I had from Boston College and the administrators and getting the right staff together and keeping Jen Kent, who was brilliant, on as defensive coordinator and getting Kayla Treanor here and keeping her here and adding Sam and Billy and recruiting the best players in the country, it was just all a part of the grand plan. And you just gotta follow your dreams and you can't be afraid to go for it. And this is what's happened.

Q. After you guys all got your trophies and your T-shirts, the team was standing over by the stands taking their pictures, you were still out on the field sort of looking over in awe. What were your thoughts when that was happening; what were you thinking, all that sort of stuff?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: I just wanted to take a minute to take a look at the girls with their families, because a big part of our philosophy is incorporating the families and weaving the families into everything that we do. That was sort of taken from us this year. So I just wanted to take a minute to see the girls hugging their moms and dads and the alums and just take that moment in; because it is, it's a family operation. And that was a moment I wanted to cherish.

Q. First of all, no knee injuries; everything is okay this year?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: Thank God. Thank God.

Q. Glad you're healthy. Knowing of course you are the 13th national champion in the history here, what's that mean, do you think, for the sport to have another new champion? Of course you've been there in this championship weekend so many times, but to win it, how important do you think it is moving forward for the sport of lacrosse?

COACH WALKER-WEINSTEIN: It's good. There's so many great programs out there and so many great players and so many great coaches. And it's just fun to be a part of a new chapter and getting some of -- the winners aren't just Maryland and Northwestern every year. But it's just exciting to be a part of something new. And I want to keep going.

I said to Hollie, we're just getting started; we've got to keep going. And I'm already thinking about winning another one. I'm just excited. I feel really grateful.