On March 25, the American University lacrosse team (3-11) struggled to contain the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (10-5) in a 16-5 loss.
Coming into the game, the Eagles knew that it would be challenging. Loyola, ranked 22nd in the country at the time, is a tough, physical team that can apply a lot of pressure out of the gate.
The game started with American and Loyola trading turnovers for the first few minutes andLoyola putting the pressure on early. Eventually, Loyola scored off the momentum of a successful attempt.
After a draw control win by the Greyhounds, the Eagles committed the first foul, causing the first free position shot of the game, with Loyola unable to convert. American successfully cleared it, and at 10:27, they got their first shot of the game by senior midfielder Reagan Murdoch. After the clear attempt of Murdoch’s shot, Loyola scored their second goal of the game 18 seconds later with 10:09 left in the first period.
After Loyola’s second goal, they won the draw control and got two shots off at the Eagles’ net, with one hitting the crossbar and the other being saved by sophomore goalie Brooke Hill. In the following clear attempt, the Eagles would commit a turnover with just over six minutes left in the first, leading Loyola to go on a dominant run for the rest of the period.
The Greyhounds would score 4 goals from five minutes and 44 seconds to two minutes and 27 seconds, with American unable to get a shot off or even get a draw control win during that time. This took the wind out of the Eagles, with Julia Pope mustering up American’s final shot attempt at a minute and 22 seconds. The first period ended 7-0 with Loyola outshooting the Eagles 13-2.
While the Greyhounds never lost their lead in the second period, there were still small defensive improvements that reduced the Greyhounds’ offensive output compared to the first period.
Despite that, Loyola did not stop applying pressure, scoring the first goal of the period at 12:48.
Regardless of the early goal, the Eagles were a little more energetic than they were in the first period, with junior defender Samantha Buonaccorsi causing Loyola to turn over the ball immediately. The Eagles then drew two fouls and a free position shot, which they were unable to convert. Shortly after, Loyola forced a turnover and turned it into a goal to make it 9-0 with just over eight minutes left in the second period.
American then had about a minute and a half of solid play, getting two shots off, one on goal, then winning a free-position shot that was later saved. The Eagles did not end the period strongly, committing three fouls and a turnover and conceding two more goals, making the score 11-0 going into half, with American being outshot 21-6.
In the third period, it was the Eagles who struck first, with Murdoch scoring and junior attacker Adria Kotzian assisting on the first goal of the period — and the first goal for American — with 12:28 left in the third. Loyola responded with a goal a few minutes later, followed by two shots stopped by Hill.
Despite that, the Eagles did not let that slow them down, scoring two goals in about two minutes, and were more physical on both sides of the ball. Sophomore midfielder Anastasia Byrnes scored the first of the two from a free position shot, and Kotzian scored the second, assisted by freshman midfielder Norah Kelaher, with over four minutes left in the third. Loyola ended the period with two goals, making it 14-3. There was a clear improvement from the Eagles throughout the period.
The fourth period was slower scoring-wise, with each team scoring twice. At this point, the game felt like a slugfest. Loyola scored the first goal of the period with 13:27 left and then the second about five and a half minutes later. Senior attacker Rachel Kolton scored the first for the Eagles with a free-position goal, and Murdoch scored the second, assisted by junior attacker Mia Zganjar, with just over two minutes left.
The game ended 16-5, but it felt like two different games had been played. In the first half, Loyola outperformed American in every way, with 11 goals, 21 shots, and going 3-for-5 on free-position shots. However, the Eagles slowly adjusted and improved throughout the entire game. Each period, they got more shots off, and slowly prevented the Greyhounds from getting some of the free shots they got in the beginning.
“Our practices coming into this game Monday and Tuesday weren’t as strong as we would have liked, and I think that showed especially in our first half,” head coach Lindsay Teeters said after the game. “It’s hard when you come up against a team that’s as strong as Loyola, but it’s an opportunity for us to get better.”
This article was edited by Connor Sturniolo, Jack Stashower and Walker Whalen. Copy editing done by Avery Grossman, Arin Burrell, Mattie Lupo, Ryan Sieve and Nicole Kariuki.
