Lacrosse goes 2-1 on week, shuts down Vassar 18-4

p allowing the women’s lacrosse to start into the heart of their schedule – their Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association conference games.The Yellowjackets opened up conference play on Friday when they travelled to face Clarkson University. UR used the Clarkson game to get some of the bugs out of their system. Due to weather the Yellowjackets had been restricted to indoor practice this past week, and this was evident against Clarkson. “We played decent, but it was clear that we had not been outdoors on a field in over a week,” head coach Andrea Golden said. UR wound up winning the game 8-5 thanks to a combination of extra hustle on the offensive end and a solid defense which helped move the squad to 4-1 and 1-0 in the UCAA. The offensive was led by the efforts of junior attacker Katie Riegel and junior midfielder Sharon LaVaute who each had two goals and an assist in the game. Junior Melanie Branski provided a spark off the bench and chipped in two key goals for UR. Sophomore midfielders Rachel Hawley and Emily Riegel each had a goal as well.The defense was reinforced by the strong goalkeeping of junior Stephanie Bristol who faced 21 shots in the game, made nine saves and only allowed five goals.The flow of the game was not what it could have been for UR due to timing and passing problems – much of which can be attributed to the lack of on field practice.”We won against Clarkson, but we could have played a lot better, and everyone knows that, but we muscled our way through it and moved on,” Golden said.Up next for the Yellowjackets were the Saints of St. Lawrence University. This day, the Saints got the better of UR and handed the team a 14-9 loss.Going into halftime, UR trailed 7-6 but the game was tight. In the opening few minutes of the second half, UR scored two quick goals to take an 8-7 lead, but the Saints struck back just 41 seconds later to knot the score at 8-8. The next goal was scored by UR with 23:08 remaining to give the team a one goal lead. The Yellowjackets held that lead for nearly seven minutes, until St. Lawrence tied it at 9-9 with 16:13 left.From this point on it was all St. Lawrence. Turnovers quickly turned into goals 10 and 11 for the Saints, and they continued to pull away before the game ended 14-9.”We just didn’t take care of the ball at the end of the game, and our lack of execution led to a breakdown. Our passing was forced and in these kinds of competitive games, we can’t afford to make the little mistakes,” Golden said. “Our mental toughness will definitely be tested in all UCAA games.”Following the St. Lawrence loss, UR decided to tee off on visiting UCAA foe Vassar College on Wednesday. Nine UR players scored goals in the 18-4 win, which was highlighted by a four goal one assist performance from Emily Riegel.Bristol did not allow a goal in her 38:59 of work, and made five saves in that span. The win moved UR to 5-2 and 2-1 in the UCAA.From here on out, nothing will come easy for UR. They play two crucial home games this weekend when they meet up with Hamilton College Friday at 4 p.m. and William Smith College Saturday at 1 p.m. In order for UR to stay on a track to make the UCAA tournament, the team will need to come away with at least one win this weekend. Hamilton is 3-1 in the UCAA and is a hungry team that is tired of losing to UR, while William Smith is a talented squad that is a perennial National qualifier that is presently undefeated in the UCAA.Fitzsimmons can be reached at afitzsimmons@campustimes.org.