The women’s lacrosse team lost to No. 22 Navy 18-4 this past Saturday, capping off its last away game of the regular season in the loss column, finishing 3-5 in away games this season. The Maroon and White then concluded their season Wednesday night against Lehigh, falling 17-16 in a tight game that almost saw the Leopards overcome a five-goal deficit with 10 minutes left to play.
In the first quarter of the game, the Midshipmen (6-2 Patriot League, 11-5 overall) began the scoring with seven goals by the 5:24 mark, putting the Maroon and White (2-6 Patriot League, 6-9 overall) in an early ditch. At 3:27, senior attacker Sara Rogers scored her first goal, assisted by freshman midfielder Sadie Martiesian.
A scoreless seven-minute period following Rogers’ goal was interrupted by a Navy goal, extending the lead to 8-1. The Leopards retaliated with a second goal from Rogers four minutes later, assisted by junior attacker Kristin Igneri.
The Leopards brought the score within five thanks to a first-half hat trick by Rogers. Freshman midfielder Annie Madden assisted Rogers’ third goal at 3:47.
Rogers has credited her success on the season to her teammates and friends.
“Everything that I’ve done could definitely be attributed to all my teammates and my friends,” Rogers said. “They’re all the best support system.”
Accountability has been a common theme across the team, according to senior defender Lindsay Geiger.
“Every day at practice, we just continue to push each other harder,” Geiger said.
After being shut out 7-0 in the third quarter, the Maroon and White struck first in the final frame with a goal by Martiesian at 14:24, assisted by senior midfielder Sophia Spallone. The goal from Martiesian, her 13th of the season, capped off the scoring for the Leopards during the game, as Navy secured a clear and decisive victory.
Despite the loss, games like these are good chances to figure out what needs improvement, according to Rogers.
“The Saturday game was tough because we obviously played Navy, and they’re nationally ranked,” Rogers said. “I think when we go into a game like that, we just kind of use that as a good chance to see what we need to get better at for other games.”
“We’ve put ourselves on the map as far as the Patriot League tournament goes,” Geiger said while looking forward to next year. “So I think, they’ll be set up really nice next year to hopefully achieve that goal.”
The Leopards turned their eyes to their final game of the season against Lehigh (3-6 Patriot League, 6-9 overall) on Wednesday night at Fisher Field. After winning their closer against Lehigh in overtime last year, the Leopards looked to make it two straight wins against the Mountain Hawks for the first time in over 20 years.
While the two teams headed into the second quarter tied at four apiece, the Mountain Hawks began to pull away, scoring five unanswered goals to head into the locker room with a three-point lead.
The third quarter was a mirror image of the first, with both teams scoring four goals, which set the stage for a dramatic fourth quarter.
Lehigh struck first to stretch its lead to 16-11 with 11:53 to play, but the Leopards began to rally in the final five minutes and change, firing off four goals in just over three minutes.
However, the Mountain Hawks were able to play keep away in the closing minutes of the game to stop the comeback just short.
Rogers, Igneri, Martiesian and senior attacker Haleigh Albrecht all tallied multiple goals in the game, with Rogers and Igneri notching four apiece.
“The team in general really is a family, and I love them all dearly,” Geiger said. “And while we’re best friends, we also know when to push each other hard.”
