The Lions' lacrosse team improved its winning streak to 12-0 this week. Saturday's game against Drew University ended in a 19-7 score in favor of the College.
Freshman attacker Lauren Dougher was the star of the game with a career-high six goals and two assists for a total of eight points.
Senior attacker Liz O'Connor and junior midfielder Jill Baldwin opened the game with one goal each. Drew answered with one goal, but the College retaliated with five more.
Drew sank one more, before the College slammed a barrage of six more goals. The Lions gained five more points to the Rangers' four, closing out the first half with a score of 13-6.
The second half opened with a goal by junior attacker Carin Heller, assisted by rookie attacker Bridget Bigley. Junior midfielder Katie Wagenblast notched another goal and O'Connor and Dougher teamed up for two consecutive goals. The Lions' last two goals came from senior attacker Tara Prindible and Dougher, assisted by Heller.
Lions 15, Cavaliers 8
The College's lacrosse team annihilated two more opponents of its home turf this week. Wednesday's game against Cabrini College ended with a 15-8 win for the College, while a 20-7 score closed Tuesday's game against Franklin & Marshall College (F & M).
Cabrini scored the first goal for the Cavaliers, but 45 seconds later, O'Connor answered with a goal of her own. A barrage of goals followed, with points being scored by Heller, Bigley and Prindible.
The Cavaliers crept up on the Lions, scoring back-to-back goals and bringing the scores within one point, but Lions scored two more goals to remain on top at the end of the half.
Cabrini's junior midfielder Maureen McQuade tied up the score as she sank the first goal of the second half. Sparked by the competition, the Lions unleashed 11 goals in the last half, while the Cavaliers only mustered three.
Heller scored three, while O'Connor and Wagenblast each scored one. The Cavaliers got two more in, but Dougher and sophomore Lauren Gossner scored the last three points of the game. Senior goalie Jen Munday registered eight saves over the course of the game.
"It was a wake-up call for us," O'Connor said. "We need to learn from our mistakes before championships."
Lions 20, Diplomats 7
The College celebrated Senior Night with a 20-7 win over Franklin and Marshall College on Tuesday. Munday, O'Connor and Prindible were honored for their four years of dedication to the team.
The seasons of their participation saw the Lions capture the 2000 national title and 2002 runner-up. The record over the last four years has been an impressive 55-3.
That record became 56-3 in after Tuesday's romp against F & M. The Lions took control of the game early with a 4-0 lead. Wagenblast, Heller, Bigley and Prindible each scored before the Diplomats were able to sink one goal at 10:20.
F & M's first goal was scored with help from the team's all-time assist leader senior Lauren Paul, but the College answered it with seven points. Dougher and O'Connor each scored two, while Wagenblast, Prindible, and Heller slammed one each.
F & M scored three times in the last minutes of the half to bring the halftime score to 15-5. O'Connor started the second half with a free position goal, but the Diplomats answered it with one of their own from freshman Kristen Forster.
The Lions scored four consecutive goals from Heller, Baldwin, Bigley and Prindible. Munday made four saves in 51:37, while freshman Megan Marquardt took over for the remainder of the game.
Upcoming Game
The Lions will finish their regular season at Washington College on Wednesday, April 30 at 4 p.m. The NCAA Division III championships first round games begin on May 7.
"As we head into postseason, every game is huge," O'Connor said. "We need to focus on one game at a time."
