With the 2025 DI women's lacrosse season starting on Feb. 7, here are four storylines to follow throughout the spring.
1. Will anyone dethrone Boston College?
Shea Dolce makes a save against Northwestern last season.
The Eagles are pursuing back-to-back championships and their third in five years. Acacia Walker-Weinstein's squad has been to the past seven national championships, taking home the trophy twice. The Eagles are certainly the team to beat, although it shouldn't be any easier this year.
Boston College returned its goals and points leader in Rachel Clark and ACC Goalkeeper of the Year Shea Dolce, as well as its second and third leading scorers. The Eagles bring back almost the entire core after their 20-3 season. They enter the season No. 1 in Inside Lacrosse's preseason rankings, but BC does travel to No. 2 Northwestern for its third game of the year. That game should give fans a benchmark to see how the nation's top two teams stack up in a 2024 title game rematch.
2. Can Maryland return to glory?
The Terps are women's lacrosse greatest all-time program with 14 titles — seven more than second place. However, Maryland has not made a title game since 2019, marking its second-longest drought in program history. It is wild that four Terrapin-less championships is considered a drought, but that is how dominant Maryland has been historically.
The Terps have made 22 of the 41 championship games — a truly remarkable stat that depicts their illustrious status in the women's lacrosse world. Maryland lost its top two point leaders and will certainly have some rebuilding to do, but it's hard to imagine the sport's most prestigious program missing championship weekend for the third consecutive season.
🏆 HISTORY: Every DI women's lacrosse champion since 1982
3. Will a new face take home the trophy?
The Wolverines return their 2024 point leader Jill Smith.
Women's lacrosse has long been dominated by familiar faces, with 35 of the 41 champions split between eight schools. Obviously, Maryland holds a bulk of that number, but historically, the game hasn't had much parity on championship weekend.
Seventeen of Inside Lacrosse's preseason top 25 have never taken home the trophy, including 10 of the top 15. Michigan, Florida and Syracuse all sit in the top six with high expectations. The Gators are coming off their second championship weekend appearance in program history, and Michigan made its first-ever quarterfinals appearance in 2024. These are young programs that are hungry for their first title.
READ MORE: Five women to watch in the 2025 Tewaaraton Award race
4. Who will replace Izzy Scane?
Izzy Scane became a household name in the college lacrosse world after taking home back-to-back Tewaaraton Awards with Northwestern. Before that, Boston College's Charlotte North took home the trophy for two straight seasons.
The past 18 Tewaaraton winners have attended one of three schools — Maryland, Northwestern or Boston College. Loyola's Chase Boyle and Northwestern's Madison Taylor return after finishing as finalists last season, but the other three women have graduated. It is a wide-open race, and it will be interesting to see if another program can take home the game's most prestigious individual award.
