Without fail, the women’s lacrosse team continued its production this weekend. The Red put up two more wins behind strong performances from its seniors and ran its record to 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the Ivy League.
Senior captain Lori Wohlschlegel continued to improve since recovering from a torn ACL. She put up a pair of big performances, leading the offense and earning 11 points.
On the other side of the ball, senior All-Ivy goaltender Carrie Giancola continued her excellence between the pipes, coming up with clutch saves in both games.
The team started its weekend early on Friday in Providence against a persistent Brown squad. Cornell started out a little off balance in the first. After senior Jaimee Reynolds put the Red up 1-0 with less than a minute down, Brown fought back.
The Bears got physical with Cornell and managed three goals in a row to put the Red at an early disadvantage. And while Cornell fought back, Brown kept on hanging tough for the rest of the first. The Red went into the half with a deficit for only the second time in the 2002 season, down 6-5.
In the second though, Cornell came out firing.
The Red made its intentions clear in the first 15 minutes of the half, out-hustling and out-playing Brown to earn its first lead since the initial minutes of the game.
With the score at 10-9 and less than 15 minutes to go, Brown picked up a Cornell turnover off the draw control and drove hard for the goal. Giancola stopped the Bears cold with a huge one-on-one save.
The Red’s offense responded with a fast-break goal that put the game away. Giancola and f” wdefense, led by seniors Sarah Graham and Katie McCorry, shut down Brown for the rest of the contest, resulting in a 13-9 Cornell win.
Wohlschlegel paced the attack with two goals and three assists for five points. Reynolds, junior Sarah Averson and sophomore Jamie Quinn all scored three goals.
“Little things here and there didn’t go our way,” Wohlschlegel said about the game, noting balls that hit the posts and a few rough calls.
Between those little things and Brown’s scrappy play, the game took a lot out of the Red.
Yesterday the team traveled to Beantown to play Boston University.
The Terriers played hard for the parents in town for the team’s senior day, but even a slightly depleted Cornell proved to be too much to handle.
“The effort was there,” explained Wohlschlegel, “but maybe the focus wasn’t.”
The Terriers worked their way to a 3-2 lead late in the first, but the Red wouldn’t stay down. The team picked up a goal to tie the game, and started a rally that put Cornell up 5-4 at the half.
After the break Cornell took the advantage and ran with it. Giancola made nine saves in the half to protect the Red’s lead and stopped a season-high 14 for the day, providing Cornell with another stellar performance.
Right with her was Wohlschlegel, who bettered her Friday tally by one, scoring three goals and earning three helpers to lead the offense.
The Red out-shot B.U. 32-23 and won 11 out of 21 draw controls. Senior Beth Calder, Reynolds and Quinn all continued their solid weekends with a pair of scores each.
“We had a couple great second halves,” said Wohlschlegel, noting the team’s ability to produce in the clutch.
At the same time though, she noted the importance of staying focused for the whole game. That, she said, is paramount.
Archived article by Matt James