On Saturday, the women’s lacrosse team (0-2 overall, 0-0 Patriot League) fell in a back-and-forth match to Columbia. While they battled hard for three quarters, the Leopards could not keep their foot on the gas pedal, allowing six goals in the final 15 minutes to lose their home opener 15-12.
The game started fast for the Maroon and White. They took a 2-1 lead five minutes into the game with goals from senior midfielder Katie Chiasson and sophomore attacker Sara Rodgers. They quickly fell behind however, as the Lions went on a 5-1 run before the Leopards stopped the bleeding with a time out.
After regrouping, Lafayette responded with a run of its own, scoring three of the last four goals of the quarter to tie the game up before halftime.
“At halftime, we were ready to keep fighting. We had erased a 6-3 deficit going into the second quarter and we knew we had more left in the tank,” senior midfielder and captain Kerry Tuorto said.
Rodgers said the team identified the highs and lows from the first half of play.
“We knew that if we kept up the good things and fixed the mistakes we would be able to pull out the win,” she wrote in an email.
The Leopards continued their offensive run after the break, dominating the third quarter thanks to senior attacker and captain Sarah Bennett scoring her second goal of the game and Rogers finding the back of the net for the fourth time that afternoon. Rogers, who has now scored four goals in each of the first two games of the season, was named all Patriot League honorable mention for her work this week.
“I’m super excited about being named an honorable mention!” Rogers wrote. “I am so lucky to have the best teammates and coaches that support me and want to see me succeed and I obviously couldn’t have done anything without all of them.”
Despite Lafayette’s 11-9 lead at the end of the third quarter, in the fourth quarter it was all Lions. The Leopards’ defense, despite its success throughout the middle quarters of the game, could not hold up, allowing four straight goals before Lafayette could answer. The Maroon and White added one more goal off the stick of freshman Charlotte Edwards to make it 13-12, but they did not score again.
“Going into the fourth quarter, Columbia did have the momentum because they kept getting possession and were in the midst of a comeback,” Rogers wrote. “Although it is hard trying to get that momentum back on our side, we still went all out and fought until the last whistle.”
By the time that last whistle came, the final score was 15-12 in favor of Columbia.
“This loss definitely stung. We were well prepared and leading at several parts of the game, so to lose such a close game was tough,” Tuorto said. “However, I do think we are looking at this loss as motivation. We are two games in and still have a lot of lacrosse to play so if we are able to fix the mistakes from Columbia early on, we will be able to be successful and continue to grow.”
Now Lafayette’s attention turns toward the future as the team focuses on building its team chemistry for the new season.
“The freshmen have completely bought into our ideals and our goals and have meshed very easily with the team,” Tuorto said. “We all understand that everyone needs to be on the same page in order for us to be successful. These games have been very helpful in building the experience for the freshmen.”
Up next for the Leopards is a road matchup against the Bryant Bulldogs tomorrow at 1 p.m.
