The women’s lacrosse team came away with three wins over spring break on its first road trip of the season, besting Fairfield 17-4 (1-3), Delaware (2-4) 19-4, and Columbia (4-2, 0-1 Ivy) 15-1. The Red (5-0, 1-0 Ivy) did not allow a single first-half goal in all three contests, while the offense put up double-digit goals for the fifth straight game this season.
“Our defense was outstanding in all of the games,” said head coach Jenny Graap ’86. “We played really consistently at both ends of the field. It was also good to give experience to so many players.”
Last week, seniors Sarah Averson and co-captain Erica Holveck were named Ivy League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for their performances against Notre Dame and Rutgers. The pair continued their great play throughout the road trip.
Averson had another big game against Fairfield, recording five goals and an assist, and she began the scoring in the opening minute. The laxers put up 10 goals in the first half, while the Stags only managed to put two shots on net.
Freshman Maggie Fava came in to replace junior Ashley Charron in net for the second half, and the Red continued to dominate at both ends of the field, scoring five more goals before Fairfield got on the board with 13 minutes left in the game.
“Maggie faced her first shots against Fairfield, and she was nervous. I was really pleased with her performances in the games later in the week, she showed more poise and confidence,” commented Graap.
Sophomore Kristin Smith posted a three-goal performance, while senior Sarah Fischer, juniors Kate Hirschfield and Jaime Quinn, and freshman Allison Schindler each had two tallies. Holveck scooped up five ground balls to go along with three assists.
Against Delaware, the Red came out with an equally strong offensive effort, again scoring 10 goals in the first half. Quinn scored a career-high five goals, while freshmen Lisa Giugliano, Liz Shaner, Lyndsay Robinson, and Schindler came off the bench to each score one goal apiece. Sophomore Lindsay Steinberg also chipped in, scoring a hat trick, and her first goals since the season opener.
In the backfield, senior co-captain Rachel Friedman led the way with six ground balls, while classmates Katie Lavin and Holveck each had four. Charron made six saves in goal for the first 50 minutes of play, with Fava entering for the last 10 minutes and recording two saves.
“Delaware was our toughest competition of the week. We were hoping that they would be more rigorous, but it wasn’t a close game,” remarked Graap.
The Red wrapped up the week with its Ivy opener at Columbia. The offense put up an incredible 46 shots, while the defense limited the Lions to just seven. With Hirschfield suffering an injury against Delaware, Schindler got the first start of the freshmen class, and did not disappoint. She scored a goal and two assists to go with a school-record nine ground balls.
“We had the most shots against Columbia, but we did not shoot particularly well against them, so that was frustrating,” said Graap.
The offense was spread out with Fischer scoring a hat trick, and Quinn, Steinberg, Averson, and Lavin each chipping in two goals.
“Depth is a huge asset for us. Our competition can’t contain our offense because we have so many weapons up front,” said Graap.
Graap expects Hirschfield to be back to practicing with the team within a week, as the Red will head out to Philadelphia next weekend for a tough game against Penn. The laxers return home on April 4 for a showdown with defending national champion Princeton.
Archived article by Jonathan Auerbach