By Mike Henken, Staff Writer
The Susquehanna women’s lacrosse team had a successful spring break, winning two of their three games over the course of the week.
On Tuesday, March 12, the River Hawks took on McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, where they dropped a tough 16-2 defeat.
The Green Terror came out firing to begin the game, scoring six unanswered goals. With just under nine minutes remaining in the first half, Susquehanna finally stopped the onslaught, as junior attacker Gabi Toohey scored an unassisted goal to make the score 6-1.
McDaniel kept the pressure on however, scoring the next eight goals to extend their lead. Late in the game, junior attacker Stephanie Dowling scored an unassisted goal, but overall, the River Hawks were unable to mount much of an attack. Junior goalie Libby Dex had four ground balls and 13 saves on the day in the loss.
Following the game against McDaniel, Susquehanna hosted the Soaring Eagles of Elmira College at Sassafras Field in Selinsgrove, Pa. on Thursday, March 14. With nine different players scoring, the River Hawks were able to pick up a 16-4 victory.
Susquehanna scored the first seven points of the contest with the goals coming from Dowling, Toohey and senior attacker Helena Woytovich. Senior attacker Kathrina Demai and sophomore midfielder Tori Lombardi had assists as well.
Elmira then responded with two goals of their own, but Susquehanna remained in control of the game, adding four more unanswered goals as the first half concluded. During that stretch, Lombardi, senior attacker Emily Hoff and freshman attacker Bella Ferriso all scored.
The second half saw more of the same, as the River Hawks once again came out strong. Hoff and Ferriso both scored again while sophomore midfielder Nicole Hauck also added a goal.
As the half continued, the Soaring Eagles scored two more goals, but it was too little too late. Dowling added another goal while sophomore defender Mary Villardi also scored, leading Susquehanna to the win.
Sophomore midfielder Alison Heimer led the River Hawks with six ground balls on the day, while also leading the team with
six draw controls. Dex had one save in the contest.
To conclude spring break, Susquehanna played Frostburg State at Sassafrass field, winning 14-13 in a nail-biting game that was decided in the final seconds. The River Hawks struck first in the contest, as Toohey scored just 12 seconds into the first half. Frostburg State responded well though, scoring four-straight goals to give the Bobcats the lead.
Susquehanna was then able to tie the game after back-toback goals from Woytovich and freshman Katie Hoerman, but Frostburg State once again scored four-straight goals to take an 8-4 lead heading into halftime.
To start the second half, the Bobcats added two more goals to increase their lead to 10-4. Susquehanna battled back, however, scoring five-straight goals to trim the lead. Toohey scored twice while senior attacker Kaitlin Homberg, Demaio and junior attacker Christine Hoerman all had one goal each.
As the game winded down, Frostburg State added three more goals to take a 13-10 lead. The River Hawks remained in the game, however, as Demaio scored at the 3:37 mark. Christine Hoerman then scored twice in less than one minute to tie the game at 13.
With just 12.5 seconds remaining, Toohey scored the final goal of the contest to give Susquehanna the victory. She leads the team with 14 goals.
“The last two games the offense has really come together and been able to use everyone’s individual strengths to come together as a team,” Toohey said. “We’ve had so many different contributors between scoring and assists which has really lead to our success this week.”
Overall, Demaio had three goals and three assists on the day to bring her to 17 points on the season, which leads the team. Katie Hoerman also had a strong day, leading the team with nine draw controls.
In addition, the defense was anchored by Dex and junior Caroline Ray. Dex had 13 saves while Ray caused nine turnovers.
“It is very important to have a winning streak going into conference play because it builds confidence,” Dex said. “Our first conference game is against Scranton who is ranked 20th in the nation. Therefore, opening against such a tough team will make it will be important to bring confidence into that game.”
The River Hawks will return to action on March 20 against Alvernia in Reading, Pa.