Women’s lacrosse continued its winning streak against Columbia, notching its 25th straight win over the Lions this past Saturday.
After a tough loss against the University of Connecticut on March 13, the Red was able to right the ship over the weekend. Cornell (4-3, 1-1 Ivy) defeated the Lions (2-6, 0-2 Ivy) by a final score of 23-8.
The first quarter ended with the Red in the lead, 8-1. The second quarter brought six more goals for Cornell.
“We ran up the score very early on against Columbia so it was important to keep the high energy and fast pace throughout the game to secure our lead,” said senior midfielder Genevieve DeWinter. “We needed to remain focused and locked in for the entire 60 minutes.”
After a strong first half, Cornell entered the locker room up 14-3, pushing Columbia out of contention and never looking back.
“At halftime we always say the score is 0-0,” DeWinter said. “We emphasized the need to come out just as strong in the second half as we did in the first and keep working as a unit regardless of the score on the board.”
The Red continued to bring the heat in the third quarter, with six goals scored by DeWinter, senior midfielder Amanda Cramer, freshman midfielder Mia Dichiara, sophomore attacker Bailey Mutch and two from senior midfielder Shannon Brazier. The third quarter ended with Cornell dominating, 20-5.
During the final quarter, the Red started to slow down its pace, allowing the Lions to add on three goals. Cornell put up three more of its own, and the game ended as a 23-8 win for the Red.
Outshooting the Lions 40-19, multiple players had an impressive game. Notably, junior attacker Katie Castiello scored three goals, three assists, three ground balls and forced three turnovers –– all in only half the game. Cramer continues to shine game after game, with four goals and an assist.
DeWinter was right alongside Cramer, scoring three goals and an assist. Junior attacker Sophie Alois, Brazier and DiChiara each finished with two goals. Freshman attacker Josie Vogel added another goal to her Cornell career.
Still strong at the draw controls, junior midfielder Annie Thomas received six more to add to her record.
Graduate goalkeeper Katie McGahan received her 22nd career win, as she was one of the four goalies who protected the net. Along with McGahan, who played for 30 minutes, was junior Sloane Loveless for 6:29, sophomore Vivian Spencer for 4:55 and freshman Ellie Horner closing out the last 18:36. Columbia only had two goalies who switched after 31 minutes of the game.
“We are focusing on Cornell lacrosse and how we can improve as a unit from Columbia,” DeWinter said. “We are analyzing our own film and working hard in practice to improve each day.”
Looking ahead, the team will go head-to-head with Harvard for another Ivy League game in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Saturday, March 26 at 1 p.m.
“As the week progresses we shift gears to focus more on Harvard specifically by watching their film and set a Cornell game plan for how we can capitalize on game day,” DeWinter said.