Photo By Michael Lipscomb
By Ashley Nace
The Susquehanna University Women’s Lacrosse season is off to a slow start as they fell to Dickinson 7-4 on Wednesday at Sassafras Field.
In their second game of the season, coming off a tough loss to Shenandoah, the Riverhawks were looking to make a break in their home opener.
The game kicked off on the right foot with Susquehanna senior Abby Andrus scoring first for the Riverhawks 2:29 seconds into the game, marking her 100th career goal.
Dickinson put one in the net to tie it up, but Andrus wasn’t done yet, coming back with 4:32 left on the clock to put another one behind the net, giving back the lead to Susquehanna.
The first quarter ended with the Riverhawks leading Dickinson 2-1, but the Red Devils would overtake the Riverhawks in the second quarter.
Senior captain and goalkeeper for the Riverhawks, Aerin O’Brien, started to see more action in the net, making two saves off Dickinson’s powerful drives to the net.
A failed pass on behalf of the Riverhawks gave the Red Devils a 1v1 opportunity on net that hit the top of the goal and bounced out, but Dickinson recovered the ball and made sure it went in the back of the net, tying up the score 2-2.
O’Brien came up big with two more saves from penalty shots and another save that bounced off her leg, but Dickinson ultimately put another goal on the board with 1:51 to go in the half.
Entering the third quarter, the Riverhawks were down 3-2. Unfortunately, with no goals in the second quarter, the Riverhawks couldn’t add any more points to the score in the third either.
Susquehanna played defense for most of the third. Even though the River Hawks made several runs down the field, they didn’t get a shot off until there were 30 seconds left in the half.
Dickinson on the other hand tallied on another goal after a pass from the outside came around front of the net and was driven into the lower left corner.
Down 4-2, the Riverhawks clawed their way back in the fourth. With the Red Devils striking first, junior Sophie Trively and freshman Maggie McDermott launched two shots into the net to bring the Riverhawks back into the game.
Down by one with seven minutes to go, Susquehanna carried the momentum, but Dickinson answered the call.
Slamming two more goals down, the Red Devils racked up to a final score of 7-4, handing the River Hawks another loss.
Andrus led the way for the River Hawks in the box score with two goals, while O’Brien had a busy day at the net with 10 saves on seven goals allowed.
“We knew that we wanted a revenge and we went out there, played our best, tried our hardest, and the outcome was what it was,” O’Brien said.
Although the River Hawks’s first two games didn’t go their way, the season is still young and a lot more lacrosse is still to be played
“We’ve got a long season ahead so, just preparing everything for the Landmark Conference,” she said.
The River Hawks will be back in action on Saturday, Feb 21 at 11:00 a.m. when they take on Messiah University at Sassafras Field.