Women's lacrosse continues NCAA Tournament run against No. 2 Boston College

The Michigan women's lacrosse team made history on Sunday as the Wolverines defeated Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to advance to the national quarterfinals for the first time in the program's 11-year history.

Junior attacker Jill Smith scored the game-winning goal, which lifted Michigan over Notre Dame by a score of 15-14, with just one second left in the game.

Now, the Wolverines are off to the Round of 8 with a berth in the Final Four on the line. Standing in their way, though, is the second-ranked team in the country, the Boston College Eagles.

Boston College boasts an impressive record of 17-3 and entered the postseason ranked behind only Northwestern in the national poll.

Interestingly, earlier in the regular season, the Eagles fell to the Fighting Irish, 15-14, the exact score that Michigan beat Notre Dame by on Sunday.

Michigan enters the biggest game in program history with a 16-3 overall record and ranked ninth in the national poll.

Smith leads the team in goals (55) and points (69). She is closely followed by Kaylee Dyer, another junior attacker, who has totaled 47 goals and 64 points in 19 games this season.

Meanwhile, starting goalkeeper Erin O'Grady has been dominant in net. With 146 saves on the season, O'Grady's goals against average is at a remarkable 6.96, which leads the nation by nearly 1.5 goals per game.

Michigan's offense ranks 50th in the nation in goals per game with 12.58. Boston College, though, ranks fourth in the same category with 16.70 goals scored per contest.

Thursday's quarterfinal matchup will be a fierce battle between the Eagles' high-scoring offense and the remarkable goalkeeping of O'Grady.

If Michigan is able to upset Boston College, it will advance to the Final Four, where it will face either No. 6 Yale or No. 3 Syracuse. Fans can watch the women's lacrosse team take on Boston College at 5 p.m. EST on ESPNU.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram