The women’s lacrosse team got off to a rough start against Wagner College on Wednesday, but fought back to win 13-9 after a commanding second half.
Three minutes into the game, the Seahawks (0-2 overall) netted their first goal. Senior midfielder Sophia Spallone responded three and a half minutes later to tie the game at the 8:45 mark.
The Seahawks continued to build on their lead by creating good offensive chances and limiting the Leopards (3-1 overall) to one goal in the first quarter. Yet, statistically, the matchup remained close, with the Seahawks only up 9-6 on shots and surrendering two fewer turnovers than the Leopards.
Freshman midfielder Anne Madden cut into the deficit with the first goal of the second quarter. However, the Seahawks dropped three more goals within two minutes before Spallone pushed the score to 6-3 before the half ended.
The Maroon and White regrouped during halftime, looking to rein the score back in.
“We went back to our plan and stuck to our plays, playing to each other’s strengths,” senior attacker Haleigh Albrecht said. “We were putting the personnel where they needed to be on the field.”
Junior attacker Kristin Igneri collected the first goal of the half, followed by a goal by classmate attacker Olivia Hover to bring the Leopards within one goal.
Igneri got her second goal of the game to tie it up at the 9:13 mark of the third quarter. The Leopards claimed their first lead of the contest courtesy of Albrecht, and the momentum continued as Igneri put another in the back of the cage, achieving a hat trick.
As it started to rain, the Seahawks attempted to rally back. They broke the Maroon and White’s scoring streak with 2:49 left in the quarter and tied the game a minute later with a free position shot.
However, the tie was short-lived as Spallone completed a hat trick of her own just 34 seconds later.
“I wasn’t happy with the first half,” Albrecht said. “So coming to the second half, I was like, ‘you know what, we’re gonna change this.'”
The Leopards had their best quarter yet in the third, outscoring the Seahawks 6-2 and finishing the quarter with a 9-8 lead.
Madden and Albrecht kicked off the fourth quarter by keeping their feet on the pedal as the Maroon and White stretched the lead to 11-8. The 3-goal streak came to an end when a foul was called on the Leopards, giving the Seahawks a free position shot that they put in the back of the net.
Senior attacker Emma Elmen reclaimed the three-goal difference with just over a minute left, and Albrecht netted her third goal in the final seconds to put the exclamation point on the victory.
Albrecht said that the team is confident that it will continue its momentum and is looking to the future positively.
“The team morale is super high,” she said. “Everyone is really on the same page, we all have a common goal, we all want to win.”
The Leopards will return to the field on Saturday as they host Old Dominion University (4-2 overall).
