The women’s lacrosse team notched its first win of the season, taking down the Canisius Golden Griffins in a double overtime thriller. While the Leopards have been competitive in almost every game they’ve played so far, they finally put it all together for a victory in front of a home crowd on Saturday.
“The win against Canisius felt amazing. It was a hard-fought game. It was a full team effort, which made the win feel that much better,” senior captain attacker Sarah Bennett said.
The game started fast for the Maroon and White as they quickly responded to a Golden Griffin goal with two of their own, one from freshman attacker Charlotte Edwards and another from sophomore attacker Sara Rogers. The Leopards added another two goals, one from Rogers and another from Bennett, to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter.
Lafayette struggled to find the net in the second quarter, but the defense and junior goalie Lexi Coldiron held the Canisius offense to just two goals before the Maroon and White offense once again came alive, breaking the 4-4 tie with two goals of their own in the final minute of the half.
“The adjustment was probably in our confidence. Canisius is a very physical team, and we knew we couldn’t be intimidated by that.” Bennett said. “Our defensive strategy is only successful when all seven defenders and the goalie are communicating. The further into the season we get, the more comfortable they have gotten as a unit.”
Coming out of halftime, Canisius scored three quick goals to go up 7-6. But once again, Lafayette stormed back with goals from senior attacker Genevieve Strobel and Bennett, which put the team ahead by one goal going into the final quarter.
Canisius refused to go down without a fight. They tied the game up once again with nine minutes remaining in the match before junior midfielder Clare Culligan once again put the Leopards ahead.
As the game was winding down, it looked as though the Leopards were going to pull out a 9-8 win. However, with 43 seconds left in regulation, Canisius put an equalizer in the back of the net to send the game to overtime.
The first overtime yielded no offense, so the game entered its second sudden-death period where junior attacker Abby Romano attacked the crease from the right side and fired a top-left corner missile, walking it off for the Leopards.
“We all did a good job of channeling our energy into excitement. I did say something to the effect of ‘when we score’ because I wanted to light a fire going into overtime,” Bennett said.
The Maroon and White finished with 27 shots on goal to the Golden Griffin’s 13, a testament to Canisius’ freshman goalie Jody Chu, who saved 17 of the Leopards’ attempts.
The game wasn’t just notable for its thrilling ending. The Leopards’ first win of the season came during their annual Athlete Ally game.
“Athlete Ally is an incredibly important cause to the women’s lacrosse team. Athlete Ally emphasizes that no matter who you are, there is a place for you in athletics,” Bennett said. “Especially within our team, it’s not just about tolerance, but about celebrating all identities and orientations.”
With their first win under their belt, the Leopards will now enter conference play tomorrow as they take on rival Lehigh Mountain Hawks at Fisher Field at 12:30 p.m.
