The Elizabethtown College men’s and women’s lacrosse teams both took the field this past weekend on Saturday, March 18. Both teams came off tough losses last Wednesday, so Saturday brought an opportunity for the teams to bounce back and find some momentum early in the season. By the end of the day, both teams notched their fourth win of the season.
The men’s team kicked off the day on a high note at 12 p.m. at home on Wolf Field against Widener University with an 18-10 win. The Blue Jays showed they were the better team throughout the day with some especially dominant second and fourth periods. Graduate student attacker Ben O’Connor led the way with a team-high of five goals. Seven other Blue Jays found the back of the net, including senior attacker Riley Langen and graduate student midfielder Alex Kilgour, who both scored three goals. Junior midfielder Joey Killpatrick and senior midfielder Colin Cummings also scored multiple times with two goals each.
The Blue Jays found themselves down 4-3 after the first period ended, but the team was quick to make some key adjustments heading into the second period. Whatever changes they made clearly worked, as they were electrifying on both ends, shutting out Widener and netting eight goals in the second period. O’Connor found his rhythm in this period, scoring three of his five goals. Langen also had a strong showing through the second with two goals of his own to go along with an assist.
That was pretty much all she wrote from that point on. Widener was able to get two goals back in the third period, outscoring Etown 4-2. However, the Blue Jays went back to their dominating ways on the attacking end in the fourth and final period with five goals and only allowing two. This win moves the men’s team to 4-4 on the season, reaching the .500 mark. They will travel to Goucher College in Baltimore, Md. on Saturday, March 25 at 1 p.m. where they will look to make it two in a row.
The women’s lacrosse team put an end to their four-game losing streak this past weekend. They got back on track with a blowout win over Immaculata University at home at 4 p.m., winning 22-9. The Blue Jays built up a monster lead early on and never looked back. Junior attacker Sam Deiaco was unstoppable on the attacking end, as she led the team with an otherworldly 10 goals. Sophomore attacker Kendall Ulmer also found success early and often with six goals. Three other Blue Jays also scored in this one, including senior attacker Hannah Cressman with three, first-year midfielder Drew Bridges with two and sophomore attacker Madison Hennelly with one.
The first two periods were near perfection from Etown. The team played tremendous defense, holding Immaculata to just four goals, and was relentless on the offensive end with 15 goals in the first 30 minutes. Etown also had three separate stretches where they scored five unanswered goals in the first two periods.
The remaining 30 minutes were not as dominant on the attacking end for Etown, but they continued to build their lead in the final two periods. The defense also continued to play lights out, holding Immaculata to just nine goals by the time the final whistle blew. The women’s team now sits at 4-4 and will look to recapture some of the momentum they found earlier in the season. They will come back home this weekend with their game against Goucher College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 25.
