Women’s lacrosse traveled to Providence, Rhode Island, on Saturday to face off against Brown (5-7, 2-3 Ivy) in one of its last Ivy League games of the season.
Despite Castiello’s five goals, Brown kept up the heat on its Senior Day and Cornell (7-7, 3-3 Ivy) narrowly lost, 12-11.
“Going into Brown we knew it would be a battle,” said junior attacker Katie Castiello. “Every team in the Ivy League is competitive, and we know that we cannot overlook anyone.”
The Bears started out of the gate strong with three early goals. The Red responded with two of its own, one from senior midfielder Amanda Cramer and the other from senior midfielder Genevieve DeWinter. However, Brown didn’t let Cornell catch up, and finished off the first quarter with two more goals, increasing its lead to 5-2.
During the second quarter, the Red was able to outscore Brown with three players finding the back of the net: Castiello, Sophomore midfielder Caitlin Slaminko and senior midfielder Shannon Brazier. The Bears was only able to scrounge up two more points in the quarter, but it remained in the lead entering halftime, 7-5.
“During halftime our coaches emphasized communication,” Castiello said. “This is something we have been working on throughout the season, as communication is critical for succeeding together… We wanted to have a strong start to the second half.”
Cornell came out of halftime with a slow start, but overall secured four points, two of them within 45 seconds of each other. Castiello scored three goals in the quarter, and DeWinter notched one. Castiello’s fourth goal was a buzzer beater, with one second left before the end of the quarter. Brown, however, continued its lead entering the final period, 10-9.
Castiello tied up the game within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter with her 26th goal of the season. But the Bears responded with two more goals in a span of 50 seconds, shutting the door on a Cornell comeback. DeWinter scored the Red’s final goal, and her 31st goal of the season, with seven minutes left, but the game ended as a loss, 12-11.
Junior defender Hilary Hoover achieved three draw controls, two ground balls and two caused turnovers. The Red was short on ground balls, 14-13, but DeWinter secured a team-best four ground balls, alongside her three goals.
Brown outshot Cornell 31-27 overall, and 19-18 in shots on goal. Both teams tied in save count, as grad goalie Katie McGahan had several key stops while Cornell attempted to regroup.
The Red has one more game left in the regular season against Dartmouth for its Senior Day. This match will determine if the team qualifies for the Ivy League Tournament, which will be held from Friday, May 7, to Sunday, May 9.
“Dartmouth is an extremely important game for us,” Castiello said. “Again, we expect every minute of these league games to be a dog fight, so we need to come out strong and fast.”
If Cornell wins against Dartmouth, it will take part in the tournament for the ninth time in 11 events. The Red’s final home game will be on Saturday, April 30, at 1 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field.
“We have been preparing all season for this, and it’ll ultimately come down to toughness and executing little plays,” Castiello said. “The game won’t be perfect, but if we can execute the little plays, the big moment will come together.”