Weeks of preseason training and preparation paid off for the UR Women’s Lacrosse team this Saturday, as it kicked off its season with a dominating win in Pennsylvania against Thiel College.
“Theil is a younger, developing team, and we definitely had more experience them them,” junior midfielder Maddy Levy, who finished the game with four goals, said. “Regardless of the opponent, we really brought our game and came out strong.”
Junior midfielder Elizabeth Botto agreed.
“We didn’t make the mistake of underestimating our opponent and playing a style that wasn’t ours,” she said.
After a goal from Levy within the first minute of play and fast break from freshman midfielder Jamieson Seabury, the Yellowjackets were up 2–0. Levy tallied her second goal a minute later and a goal from senior midfielder Jamie Wallisch followed.
Goals from senior attacker Mara Karpp, freshman midfielder Marina Kern, and another from Levy closed out the first 10 minutes of the first half.
Off of a free position shot, freshman midfielder Kaileigh Davis assisted to freshman midfielder Maggie Mckenna’s first goal of her career. In yet another impressive set of performances from the team’s rookies, freshman midfielder Jenna Macri scored off of a free position, boosting the Yellowjacket’s goal count to nine.
Goals from Karpp and Wallisch came before the end of the first half, both their second of the game. Junior attacker Brigid Reagan scored with just under nine minutes left, contributing to a score of 12–0 going into the second half.
“We possessed the ball on offense for long periods of time which has been something we have struggled with in the past, so it’s nice to see improvement in that area,” said Levy.
Before a change in offensive pace 20 minutes into the half, Reagan scored twice more, with Levy and Seabury tallying one more goal each. The Yellowjackets let up on the offensive pressure, but did not waiver defensively. As the game neared its conclusion, Reagen scored to finalize the score, 17–0.
“We stayed composed and worked hard throughout the whole game and everyone got to play,” Botto said.
Goals came from eight different contributors against the Tomcats, who are now 0–2 on the season. Two of the team’s starters, Mckenna and Seabury, are freshman, both of whom scored. Kern and Macri, also freshman, added a combined three more goals to the tally.
“This game was a healthy confidence boost that we need to prepare for the next few tough games coming up in the next two weeks or so,” Levy said. “Everyone is feeling really good after the game, which I think is deserved.”
The team’s first home game of the season is this Wednesday against SUNY Geneseo, which is 1–1 on the season. The team will continue play throughout spring break with a home game against Oswego State this Friday, and road games against St. John Fisher and D’Youville Colleges next week.
