The AU women’s lacrosse team notched their first Patriot League win of the season on April 19, soaring past the Colgate Raiders 10-9 at Jacobs Field.
The win was especially sweet to seniors defender Lauren Binstein, midfielder Nicole Lombardo, attacker Alex Lugovina and midfielder Emily Maher, who were honored with their families at the start of the match.
Senior goalkeeper Ashley Dalisera was also honored with flowers, but she received her senior recognition at her final field hockey game in the fall, as she has only been with the lacrosse team for one year.
This will be the first time in three season that the Eagles will miss the Patriot League championships.
“[The seniors] did an incredible job. It’s been a tough year for us as a program, and I couldn’t be prouder of the way that they’ve shown up every single day to work and get better,” head coach Emma Wallace said. “I think that this endgame has been a true testament to their effort all season. We are going to miss them tremendously.”
Colgate (7-8, 4-4 PL) took the early lead in the game with a quick goal from junior midfielder Megan Ark, who used her speed and skilled footwork to whip the ball past Dalisera.
The Eagles (5-12, 1-7 PL) responded strongly. Sophomore midfielder Olivia Mangan tied the match with a free-position shot that was quickly followed by another goal by Lugovina.
Freshman midfielder Madison Hoon and junior attacker Jordan Harrington also recorded goal during the first 30 minutes of play, but the first half remained tight with neither team extending their lead beyond three. Heading into halftime the Eagles trailed 6-5.
AU held the Raiders scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the second half and racked up three of its own goals to take the lead. Freshman attacker Shauna Norris led the second half efforts with an early goal, and sophomore attacker Jessica Wojciechowski built off Norris’s momentum to notch another point for the Eagles with 18:04 to play.
Mangan scored AU’s seventh point of the day, and Wojciechowski found the back of the net again just minutes later to extend the Eagle’s lead to three. Mangan notched two more goals before the final whistle to end the game with a hat trick. Colgate’s Megan Ark led both teams in scoring, earning a total of four goals.
“We had the momentum, and we were not going to give up at that point. We decided as a team and as a group to really come out and show them who we were and wear our hearts on our sleeves. It’s our last game, we have nothing to lose, so might as well go for it,” Wallace said.
While the AU offense performed well, strong defense characterized both teams and ultimately allowed the Eagles secure the win. The Eagles forced seven Colgate turnovers, and despite being outshot by the Raiders 21-19, they preserved and prevented Colgate from capitalizing on key opportunities.
Dalisera’s goalkeeping also kept AU in the game during the final minutes; she recorded nine total saves to help elevate the Eagles past Colgate and end the season with a win.
