Women’s lacrosse opened its Liberty League season away this past weekend at Clarkson University and St. Lawrence University. The games were split with a 1-point differential for both. The ‘Jackets sealed the game against Clarkson with a 9-8 victory, then followed it up with a 15-16 loss to St. Lawrence, who upended UR in the final minute.
At the Clarkson game, the ‘Jackets earned the win through solid defense, allowing only one goal in the last 10 minutes. Junior goalie Leslie Dube made 12 saves and forced three turnovers. At the half, UR held a 5-2 lead thanks to two goals from freshman attack Allyson Hogan, as well as goals from juniors midfielders Lindsay Dakin and Abby Woodward and freshman defender Charlotte Clements.
11:19 into the second half, UR and Clarkson were tied at 6-6. The ‘Jackets responded with a three-goal advance. Sophomore attack Danielle Mondro put the ball into net with a pass from junior MaryKate Hannan with 15:38 left, followed by an unassisted goal from senior defense Mimi Hong with 13 minutes remaining. Freshman attack Chelsea Audin scored 10 seconds later with an assist from Dakin.
Then the game got close. Swords out, the Golden Knights attacked and tallied two more goals, making the score 9-8. But UR was able to hold them off in the end and the score stayed.
“One of our goals was to win those 1-point games,” sophomore attack Amanda Case said. “We were able to do that with Clarkson.”
Hong and Hannan collected four ground balls and Dakin had three.
In a heated game against St. Lawrence, UR fought back from a six-goal deficit in the final 19 minutes. The ‘Jackets ran out of time to answer back, however, when the Saints scored the winning goal in the last minute.
“We played better against St. Lawrence,” Case said. “It was the best game we’ve played yet. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to pull off those last two goals.”
Case led UR with four goals in the game.
The scores were spread out amongst the offense. Hannan and Hogan each tallied three goals, while Dakin and Audin each had two. Woodward scored once. Case and Dakin added an assist apiece as well.
With 19 minutes left in game, the Saints were ahead 11-5, but UR was not ready to settle for a loss. Adrenaline pumping, the ‘Jackets responded with four-straight goals. The score tightened to 11-9. Within 68 seconds, the Saints regained a significant lead, making it 13-9. UR kept pace. Audin scored twice in the next two minutes, making the score 14-11. Hannan followed, gaining two tallies from free-position shots. At 4:56, Dakin tied the game at 14-14. The Saints responded to take a one-goal lead just over a minute later and Case equalized the score at 2:45.
With 32 seconds left, St. Lawrence scored its final goal. Even though the ‘Jackets did not notch a victory against St. Lawrence, UR players saw the game as a step in the right direction.
“The reason we were so successful was because everyone was taking care of the ball,” Case said. “Seeing how we played at St. Lawrence makes us excited for the rest of the season, [because it demonstrates] how well we can play.”
UR held a 36-29 shot advantage over St. Lawrence, who improved to 7-3 in the regular season. St. Lawrence sits one ahead of UR in Liberty League standings.
The ‘Jackets won 16 groundballs in the game. Junior defense Marlena Fisher won six draws, while Case caused three turnovers. They forced 16 turnovers as a team.
Dube finished with five saves in goal.
UR is now 1-1 in the Liberty League and 2-5 overall. The ‘Jackets are in the middle of the pack in the conference.
The ‘Jackets go on to face Union College, who sits in first place in the Liberty League, on Friday at 4 p.m. and Skidmore College on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Bucarey is a member ofthe class of 2010.
