It is just about a quarter of the way through the season, and the women’s lacrosse team is standing firm. In their previous two games, the No. 7 Lions have outscored their opponents 37-3, bringing their record to an impressive 4-0.
“I think coming into this season, we thought we would start off pretty (well) because a lot of our harder teams were later in the season,” senior midfielder Lauren Pigott said. “You are going to have some weaker teams and you are going to have some harder teams, but no matter what team you come across, you don’t take them lightly and you still play your game, so I think we did a pretty good job of that.”
While the Lions have definitely dominated their opponents thus far, their first true test of the season came against Messiah College, who at one point trailed by five points. The women were not fazed, however, and came back to clinch the game 16-14 in the final minutes.
“We really came together in the second half and just pushed it to the final whistle,” Pigott said. “We have to remember to be a full 60-minute team and not just step it up when we are losing. I think that true colors of an athlete really come out when you play a good team, and we didn’t give up and we ended up winning in the end of the game.”
Leading the Lions against Messiah was junior attacker Kendal Borup. Not only did she score seven goals, but she also tied the game late in the second half. Just a few moments later, Borup was at it again and scored once more to give the Lions their first lead of the game.
“Kendal was definitely a standout and performed well in that game,” Pigott said. “I think everyone has been doing well, (but in our biggest game) against Messiah, Kendal stepped it up and scored a majority of the goals, so I am really proud of her for that.”
In the two games following Messiah, the Lions were never threatened, beating Rutgers-Camden and Manhattanville College 19-2 and 18-1, respectively.
“Those are some of the weaker teams that we play, but it is still important that we don’t take them lightly because we still have to come out strong and we still have to play our game,” Pigott said. “We know that sometimes it’s hard for a team to continue their level of play against a weaker team and I think we did a good job of playing to our standards.”
This Thursday, March 20, the Lions will be back in action at home against No. 6 Gettysburg College.
“It is going to be good going in against them with a 4-0 record because we have confidence and we are doing (well) so far,” Pigott said. “I am pretty confident that if everyone is on their A-game, and if we (communicate) well with each other and prepare well this week, then I think we are going to come out on top. This will be a huge win for our team and help us move on with the rest of our season.”
