Coming off an impressive win against No. 19 Yale (10-5, 4-3 Ivy) on Friday, women’s lacrosse (7-8, 3-4 Ivy) concluded its regular season on Saturday with a loss to Brown (6-8, 3-4 Ivy).
“We were coming off a really great win against Yale, and we were focused on getting the win against Brown,” said senior attacker Amanda Cramer.
Brown started the game strong by winning the draw, but it was the Red that put the first points on the board with a goal from junior midfielder Caitlin Slaminko.
The Bears responded to Cornell’s early lead with two goals of their own. To tie up the game, the Red found the back of the net with a shot made by Cramer.
However, the tied score didn’t last long with Brown scoring two more goals back to back.
Before the end of the quarter, the Red scored once more, but the Bears found the back of the net two more times, finishing the quarter with Cornell down, 6-3.
“[Brown] was pushing the fastbreak really well. I played against Claire Chesky in high school and she’s a great player who I respect a lot. She came ready to play and was really having a day,” Cramer said. Chesky was Brown’s top scorer for this game.
Cornell picked up the intensity in the second quarter, winning all draw controls. The team was able to score twice during the beginning of the quarter, with both of the Red’s goals scored by Cramer.
The Red’s defense limited Brown to only one shot on goal the entire quarter.
“We were playing with a little bit more fire and our energy was better,” Cramer said. “We were also doing great on the draws, which really helped.”
Even with an offensive push from Cornell, the Red was still down at the half, 6-5.
The third quarter started out strong for the Red, winning the draw and scoring in the first minute of gameplay, tying the game at 6-6.
Brown scored off a free position shot, followed by another shot finding the back of the net, resulting in the Bears leading the game.
As time was running out, Slaminko scored off a free position shot.
With just seconds left on the clock, Brown was able to sneak another ball into the net, ending the quarter, 9-7.
The Bears dominated the fourth quarter, scoring within the first minutes.
Cornell senior attacker Katie Castiello found the back of the net soon after Brown’s opening score. Following this goal, Brown began to dominate the game, scoring four consecutive goals, while keeping Cornell out of the net.
“Brown’s offense was moving the ball and we weren’t able to find the back of the net in time,” Cramer said.
With over two and a half minutes left, Brazier received a yellow card and Cornell was a man-down.
Despite this disadvantage, junior attacker Maggie Pons scored a final goal for the Red with an assist from sophomore attacker Josie Vogel. The final score was 14-9.
Due to this loss, Cornell did not make it into the Ivy playoffs and ended the season with a conference record of 3-4, finishing fifth in the Ivy League.
“This team, even though we didn’t go as far as we wanted to, was a really special group of people and we had a great team culture,” Cramer said, reflecting on her final season at Cornell. “I’m very glad that I got to spend my last year playing with these people.”