The women’s lacrosse team remains winless in Patriot League play after a pair of blowout losses to Bucknell University and No. 6 Naval Academy, increasing its losing streak to eight.
“I think there were a lot of little things we didn’t capitalize on,” sophomore midfielder Annie Madden said. “We just have to keep using it as motivation.”
Friday night’s matchup against Bucknell (5-2 Patriot League, 9-4 overall) proved to be wire-to-wire, with the Bison not looking back after taking a 3-1 lead after the first quarter. Freshman attacker Georgia Swarr scored the sole goal for the Leopards (0-7 Patriot League, 4-9 overall) in the frame.
Senior attacker Olivia Hover matched the Bison’s first score of the second just a minute later, but Bucknell once again outpaced the Maroon and White 3-1 in the frame — allowing a goal to sophomore midfielder Isabelle Pohmer — to create some distance with a 7-3 halftime lead.
The Bison would double their advantage by the end of the third, facing the Leopards with an insurmountable 13-5 deficit. The Maroon and White offense put three on the board within the final 15 minutes, including sophomore midfielder Evelyn Guyer’s second on the day, but ultimately fell by a 15-8 final score.
“We’ve got to come out with fire,” senior goalie Kennedy Carr said. “It starts from the draw.”
Wednesday saw the Leopards fall by their largest deficit of the season, as Navy (6-1 Patriot League, 14-1 overall) pieced together a 24-1 thrashing that tied a Black Knight program record.
Carr said the team “did a lot of film” in preparation for its third contest against a top-25 opponent this season.
“We knew who their key players are,” Carr said. “We tried to switch up the defense. We tried new things because we had to show something that they hadn’t seen yet from us.”
Navy opened the floodgates with a 10-goal first quarter, the most allowed in a single frame by the Maroon and White all year. The Black Knights smothered the Leopard offense throughout the first half, allowing just eight shots en route to a 16-0 lead by halftime.
“We have to come out pissed,” Madden said. “Being upset about giving up goals, and using that as motivation to come out strong.”
Madden finally broke through for the Leopards with just under eight minutes left in the final quarter, receiving a pass from Pohmer and slotting in to avoid the shutout. Navy still outscored the Maroon and White 3-1 in the quarter, polishing off a dominant showing on the road.
Carr was pulled after 40 minutes in the net, allowing 17 goals and making four saves on the day.
The Leopards will have two final opportunities to pick up a conference victory, hosting American University (2-5 Patriot League, 3-11 overall) in Saturday’s Senior Day game and hitting the road for their rivalry game against Lehigh University (1-6 Patriot League, 6-8 overall).
“We’re gonna get those wins,” Carr said. “There’s no option. We’ve got to win those.”