No. 24 Clemson women’s lacrosse (7-3, 1-3 ACC) dueled against No.4 Boston College (6-2, 3-1 ACC) on Thursday, and although it was a tough battle, the Eagles finished on top, winning 17-10. Here are a few key takeaways from the matchup:

Paws up: Emma Tilson and Sofia Chepenik

Sofia Chepenik and Emma Tilson were leading scorers for the Tigers on Thursday. Tilson totaled four goals while Chepenik sent three balls to the back of the net, totaling seven out of the team’s 10 goals on the day.

Chepenik, who earned co-offensive ACC Player of the Week on Tuesday, proved she deserved the award after her standout performance on Thursday.

Paws down: Draw controls fail to slow down Eagles’ offense

The Tigers are typically strongly suited with their draw controls, but they struggled to maintain possession of the ball against the Eagles.

By the end of the game, Boston College had taken 21 of 31 total draw controls. A critical concern for Clemson was losing the draw, which often led to a quick start on offense for the Eagles. 

Paws up: Closing the gap in the third quarter

Clemson was playing catch-up for the majority of the game. However, during the third quarter, there was a glimmer of hope.

In three quarters, Clemson was outscored by the Eagles. The only exception was in the third quarter, where the Tigers found themselves outsourcing Boston College 3-1.

At the half, Clemson was down 11-6, but by the end of the third quarter, it was a three-point game. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Eagles’ fourth-quarter offense was too much to overcome, and it outscored the Tigers 5-1. 

Paws down: Bad shots and dropped balls

Another key problem in Thursday’s game was the inability of Clemson to capitalize off its offensive possessions. The Eagles strong defense pushed the Tigers’ offense into taking shots too quickly or simply dropping the ball.

The Tigers struggled with dropping balls when it mattered most. Clemson would run a play in the middle of the 8-meter and then lose possession, along with a scoring opportunity.

Clemson took 24 shots, with 19 shots on goal, and only scored 10. Most of this issue stemmed from rushing the ball to the goal and not pulling back to settle if the shot was not there.