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Mckenna Davis sat in the first row of the then-Carrier Dome’s bleachers, often donning an orange wig almost every time Syracuse women’s lacrosse was home in the early 2010s. She dreamed of one day playing for SU.

The Pittsford, New York, native attentively watched players like Kayla Treanor, Kailah Kempney and Katie Webster, hoping she’d one day star on the same field as her idols. Additionally, she always sported a pen for postgame autographs. After every game, Davis perched on the railing to greet her favorite players and get their signatures.

“I was at every single home game,” Davis said. “I was always a big fan of (Syracuse’s) program.”

But instead of attending Syracuse, Davis has since produced a legendary four-year career at rival Boston College after SU didn’t recruit her. The former ​​five-star recruit committed to BC in 2019, becoming the Eagles’ all-time leader in assists (198) to pair with 88 career goals. Davis is also Syracuse’s Kryptonite, racking up 20 career points against the Orange and helping Boston College win all six head-to-head matchups of her tenure, including two in the Final Four.

Though the senior won’t complete her childhood dream of playing in the JMA Wireless Dome due to scheduling conflicts, Davis and No. 2 BC look to continue their dominance against No. 16 SU at Christian Brothers Academy Thursday.

“I always like to take the (Syracuse) game a little more personally,” Davis said. “I take a lot of pride in having this upstate competitiveness. There’s definitely a little extra emotion from my side.”

Current Syracuse head coach Kayla Treanor (left) poses with Mckenna Davis (right) at the then-Carrier Dome. Courtesy of Ronnie Davis

Thanks to her father, Ronnie, a 1992 national champion and All-American at Division III Nazareth College before playing professional field and box lacrosse, Davis quickly had a lacrosse stick in her hand as a toddler. Soon after, Ronnie encouraged Davis to play organized lacrosse just before kindergarten.

The family started making the hour-long drive from Pittsford to Syracuse every few weekends to watch the Orange. In Davis’ elementary and middle school years, SU won two conference tournaments and made six Final Fours.

In fifth grade, Davis attended one of SU’s overnight lacrosse camps. There, Syracuse’s players took Davis under their wings, notably Kempney, who Davis liked because they each sported No. 3. Tori Wehner and Carly Randall, players for SU who also hailed from the Rochester area, grew close enough with Davis to babysit her. She still stays in touch with the former players from time to time.

“She had a great relationship that she’ll probably cherish forever,” Ronnie said. “That kept her playing and kept her wanting what Kailah Kempney had and what Kayla Treanor had.”

Davis continued to perfect her craft with Monster Elite Lacrosse, an organization founded by Ronnie that produced current SU players Ashlee Volpe, Molly Guzik, Bri Peters and Ava Peers.

Growing up, developing Davis’ left hand was a main priority. While she’s a natural righty, Ronnie placed the stick in her left hand when she could barely walk. It allowed her to put more velocity and accuracy on shots and passes with her stronger right hand on the bottom of her stick.

Her awareness on the field always stood out, Monster Elite’s Director of Recruiting and Player Development Craig Chamberlain said, likening it to legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky. She could see plays developing two or three steps before anybody else.

Davis was never the most athletic player on her teams before high school, Ronnie said. But she broke out as a sophomore.

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Ronnie remembers watching Davis shine at a tournament in Albany that winter. He admittedly wasn’t sure what level she’d reach, whether Division I or Division III. By Davis’ junior year of high school, though, she became a top-20 prospect in the 2021 class, per Inside Lacrosse.

When collegiate offers came flowing in, she set her sights beyond upstate New York.

But SU didn’t actively recruit her. Gary Gait, then the head coach of the women’s team, grew close with Ronnie during their playing days. He sat down with Ronnie and said Syracuse wouldn’t pursue Davis since the Orange already had three left-handed attacks in her class.

So, Davis explored other options. When the recruiting window opened on September 1, Treanor, then an assistant coach at BC, quickly texted Davis. Within minutes, another followed from Eagles head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein. Davis scheduled a visit to Boston that weekend. BC quickly shot to the top of her list, and she committed that fall.

“Everybody wanted a left-hander with the IQ of Mckenna, and the change of direction and the stick skills,” Chamberlain said. “Everybody knew she was going to step in and be a player.”

In her freshman season at BC, she was that. An injury to senior Courtney Weeks launched Davis into a significant role as a freshman, although she was pushed to the left side rather than her traditional position in the pocket. Davis notched 19 goals and 12 assists to earn All-ACC Freshman-Team honors.

But her role changed in her next three seasons. She became BC’s primary facilitator, resulting in a 62-assist sophomore season, which ranked second in the country.

In her first game back in Syracuse, albeit at SU Soccer Stadium, Davis helped the Eagles snap then-No. 1 SU’s hopes of a perfect season. With a minute and a half left, she received a pass in traffic, dodged a defender, kept her stick high and fired a shot past Delaney Sweitzer. It proved to be the difference in the 17-16 upset.

She continued to punish SU by adding two assists when the squads met again a month later, an 8-7 NCAA Semifinals win for BC.

“She loves that position of being arguably the most unselfish player on the field,” Ronnie said. “All she’s doing is looking for people to give the ball to. I think that the first year was a great learning year. But I believe that her home is in that pocket, feeding the ball and being the quarterback.”

When Davis orchestrated the Eagles’ offense with a nation-leading 69 assists, they won the 2024 national title. En route to winning the title, Davis registered five points in the ACC Championship Game to defeat Syracuse 15-8 and tallied another five points as the Eagles downed the Orange in the NCAA Semifinals.

Davis has continued her success into her final collegiate season, as her 55 assists through 15 games are the second-most nationally. Meanwhile, she tied BC’s record for assists in a single game with nine against then-No. 10 Virginia on April 12.

Whether she’s facing her childhood team or a top-10 powerhouse, Davis has helped BC to a 14-1 record.

“When you go out and play against Syracuse or Carolina, you once worshiped those schools,” Ronnie said. “But when that clock starts, it’s a game. (Davis) wants to go out and play her best every game.”

So, in a top-20 battle an hour from where she grew up against a team she once idolized, with a coach who recruited her to BC on the other sideline, there will be extra emotion. But Davis looks at it like any other contest. Syracuse is just another stop on the road to her second title.

“The (Syracuse) game is definitely circled. It’s gonna be a big moment for me,” Davis said. “But at the end of the day, we want to make a run to the Final Four, and we want to be playing in May.”

Published on April 17, 2025 at 12:01 am
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