Photo Courtesy of Susquehanna Athletics
By Ashley Nace
All good things come in three, including the River Hawks’ Women’s Lacrosse win streak.
The Susquehanna women advanced their record to an even 5-5, tacking on another win to their two-game win streak after sending the Wilkes Colonels packing from Sassafras Multipurpose Field on Wednesday with an overbearing 20-6 loss.
The River Hawks wasted no time getting the game started, as junior Jessica Russo scored on the Colonels first. Russo went on to be Susquehanna’s leading scorer for the game, racking up seven total goals.
Wilkes came right back to put the ball in the River Hawks’ net, tying up the game. But the tie was short lived as Russo came back scoring two more goals with 7:42 left in the first.
A free-position shot gave Wilkes the final goal of the quarter, sending the game into the second with the River Hawks up 3-2.
Even though the Colonels kept a close game in the first, they couldn’t stop the aggression of the River Hawks in the second quarter as Susquehanna dominated Wilkes 10-0 in the quarter.
Senior Abby Andrus, the second highest scorer of the match with five goals, slammed down the first goal of the quarter in 22 seconds, setting the tempo for the River Hawks.
Junior Sophia Trively and Russo tacked on a goal each before the clock struck 13:00. Another goal for Russo propelled Susquehanna to a five-goal lead.
If Sassafras hadn’t seen a spectacle yet, it sure did when first-year Maggie McDermott and Russo came up huge for the River Hawks, each scoring goals a mere 12 seconds apart.
Before the half ended, Andrus scored two more goals, Russo earned another and junior Waverly Oake-Libow, who garnered three assists on the day, got a goal of her own, bringing the score to 13-3.
The River Hawks were unstoppable as they went on to score six more goals in the third.
Andrus started the half with a goal in 1:02, followed by a goal for first-year Abby DiComes and another for McDermott. After Andrus scored her fifth, the River Hawks saw new faces on the field.
As Susquehanna settled into the rest of the game, sophomores Abbey Gearhart and Alison Church scored two last goals for Susquehanna in the final moments of the third.
Susquehanna ran away with the game 19-2 before the fourth started, but the Colonels followed the River Hawks’ lead, scoring four goals in the last quarter to narrow the final score margin slightly.
The Colonels climbed their way back on the board, putting up three goals before a River Hawks scored.
With less than four minutes to play, first-year Alena Malinowski scored the last goal for Susquehanna of their second conference game.
In one last desperate attempt, the Colonels wrapped things by putting a final goal in the River Hawks net.
The River Hawks’ goaltenders saw limited action, with senior Aerin O’Brien coming up with seven saves and first-year Maggie Patterson and sophomore Clare Blaschak each making one themselves.
The River Hawks outshot the Colonels 37-20, with six of the Colonels’ shots being free-position shots. Only 10 of Wilkes’ shots were on goal compared to Susquehanna’s 30.
Russo earned the most points with seven goals and an assist, followed by Andrus with five goals and two assists.
The River Hawks lifted themselves to a 2-0 conference record and will travel to Williamsport, PA to take on Lycoming on Saturday, March 28 at 1 p.m. to see if they can stretch their win streak.