Elizabethtown College’s lacrosse teams faced off this week against two Landmark Conference opponents. The men’s team took on Catholic University at home on April 16, followed by the senior day celebration for the women’s team against Wilkes University on April 19. Etown’s men’s team hoped to close the gap on the Landmark Conference leader, Scranton University, and try to take the first-place spot from the Royals. The women’s team hoped to put themselves further into playoff position, sitting in a three-way tie for fourth place with Susquehanna University and Juniata College.

Against Catholic, Etown opened scoring early as  graduate defender Joel Maragoto scored the first goal of the game off an assist by the graduate goalie Brayden Franey. The Cardinals clawed back, scoring two goals, both unassisted, giving themselves the edge heading into the final minutes of the first quarter. The Blue Jays tied the game up with three minutes to go in the first, with graduate midfielder Lucca Scomillio netting Etown’s second goal and ending the first quarter tied at 2-2. The Blue Jays came out hot from the quarter break, scoring two goals by sophomore attacker Jake Woodworth and junior midfielder Jay Rodriguez. Catholic continued to pull their weight, scoring a mere 40 seconds after the goal by Rodriguez and tying the game up after a goal two minutes later. Rodriguez netted his second goal of the game in the second quarter, however, the Cardinals added another in the six-goal second quarter, tying the game at 5-5 heading into the halftime break. After Etown and Catholic split goals in the third quarter, with sophomore midfielder Reese Levinson and sophomore attacker Tristian Coleman adding goals, the Blue Jays went on a tear in the fourth quarter. Catholic opened up scoring in the fourth, but two goals from Levinson capped off the streak of four goals in a row by Etown, finishing the game with the tight 11-9 victory. Levinson finished the game with a hat-trick to cap off Etown’s victory against the Landmark Conference opponent. The Blue Jays will chase a back-to-back lacrosse Landmark Championship, beginning with the semi-finals at home on May 1 and the final on May 3.

Etown’s women’s team had a ceremony before their matchup against Wilkes, honoring the seniors from the team in their last home game of the season. The Blue Jays came out of the gates hot, scoring an unbelievable 13 goals in the first quarter. Senior attacker Megan Meyer and junior midfielder Drew Bridges netted four goals in the first quarter each, headlining the 13 goals scored. Goals by first-year midfielder Ella Scholes, senior attacker Madison Hennelly, sophomore attacker Abby Bach, senior attacker Megan Gress and first-year midfielder Hailey Meyer rounded out the scoring for Etown. The Blue Jays continued to pour on the goals against the Colonels, starting the second quarter with a hat trick by Scholes and another goal by Hailey Meyer. Etown led by as much as 17 before Wilkes added two goals at the end of the second quarter, which was split by the fourth goal of the quarter by Scholes. Heading into the halftime break, the Blue Jays led the Colonels 18-2 after Wilkes netted a last-second goal to cut the deficit to 16. Etown didn’t stop scoring after the break, adding three in the third quarter off goals by Bach, Bridges and Scholes. In the fourth quarter, Bridges and Megan Meyer added the final two goals for Etown to end the game, finishing off Wilkes with a blowout senior day 23-3 victory. Scholes and Bridges both finished the game with six goals, followed by Megan Meyer with five goals of her own. Etown will play their next game in the quarterfinals of the Landmark Conference Championships on April 29, possibly at home, which will be determined by the final two Landmark matchups. The semifinals will be played on May 1, and the final will be played on May 3.