Powered by great performances across the board, the women’s lacrosse team (5-0, 2-0 Ivy) faced off against Columbia (2-3, 0-2) and continued their undefeated season in a 14-7 win over the Lions.
Seniors Olivia Mattyasovszky, who is also a staff writer for the Sun, and Jessica Schwab were the leaders on Saturday’s statsheet. Mattyasovszky netted a career high five goals and Schwab added three of her own along with an assist.
“It was awesome to see Liv [Mattyasovszky] finish so well,” head Coach Jenny Graap said. “Five goals was a superb output, and her teammates fed her beautifully.”
By the end of the first half the Cornell was already up 8-1 on the Lions. In the second half Columbia tried its best to mount a comeback, but couldn’t outplay the Red, who were firing on all cylinders.
While Mattyasovszky was the leader in points on the day, she had nothing but praise for her teammates.
“I think in the game against Columbia Schwab had an amazing day,” she said. “She had a hat trick and was such a calming force behind the net against some really tough defensive pressure. Catie Smith on the defense had an unbelievable game, causing so many caused turnovers for us. Catherine Moubayed had a tight mark on one of their top scorers and she did her job perfectly; completely shutting down one of their best players.”
The women’s lacrosse team is still undefeated, continuing their best start to a season since 2013. Even with all their success, Coach Graap is ensuring that her squad continues to improve.
“We feel very fortunate to be undefeated at this early stage of the season, but our squad is still a work in progress,” Graap said. “Frankly, we’ve gotten away with some sloppy play and mental errors in early games which need to be cleaned up.”
Improvement and development is rooted in strong practices during the week, Graap said.
“Improving at practice is an important focus,” she said. “Players need to push each other to raise the bar individually and collectively. If we want to compete with the best teams in our conference and the best teams nationally, we need to put in the effort.”
Mattyasovszky had a similar mindset to her coach’s; celebrating the victory while still aiming for improvement.
“Starting the season 5-0 has been amazing, but we’re still learning and have a lot to work on,” Mattyasovszky said. “The second half of our season will be a huge test and we’re playing some really talented teams.”
Even with the focus on improvement still at the forefront of the team’s collective mindset, Cornell has much to celebrate with their outstanding start to the season. The Red has already faced two of their Ivy rivals and came out both times with solid wins, boding well for their eventual goal of an Ivy League championship.
“Since the fall our goal for this season has been to win an Ivy League Championship, especially for our senior class,” Mattyasovszky said. “If we work hard and stay connected I don’t think there’s a limit on what we can do.”