he Elizabethtown women’s lacrosse team took on the No. 12 ranked Catholic University Cardinals this past weekend in their Landmark Conference opener. Sophomore midfielder Addie Stang netted a pair of goals, but it wasn’t enough to bring down this formidable Catholic side, as the Jays fell 21-3.
“It was a tough game against a nationally ranked team, but there were definitely things we did well and learned from,” Stang said of their performance this weekend. The Cardinals jumped out to a sizeable 6-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the half, until Stang put away her first of the afternoon.
The Cardinals then went on a nine-goal run to put the game all but out of reach. Junior midfielder Dana Robidoux scored her only goal of the afternoon to end the Cardinal’s run, and Stang added another on top.
It wasn’t all bad, according to Stang, who saw some upside in the loss and a few things the team can expand upon in the future. “We were able to improve our pressure offense as well as pick up ideas from their high-pressure defense,” she said. “Overall, a lot of things went well, including some key ground ball pickups and draw controls.”
First-year goalkeeper Michelle Fuller had a busy outing, facing 26 shots from Catholic in the first half alone, making seven saves. Stang finished with a team-high four shots and four draw controls. Robidoux won a pair of draws, caused two turnovers and picked up three ground balls.
The Cardinals got everyone involved on Saturday, spreading their goals over 17 different players. On what Coach Seling had to say about the game, Stang said “[Coach Seling] encouraged us to learn from this and keep moving forward. Our team is taking what we learned Saturday and using it as motivation. It was good to see that, while we have come extremely far in one season, there are still new goals to reach.”
The loss drops the Blue Jays’ record to 3-3 and 0-1 in the Landmark Conference. Drew University and Merchant Marine University also lost their Landmark Conference openers.
In a non-conference game against Stockton University on Tuesday afternoon, the Blue Jays fought tough before ultimately falling to the Ospreys, 14-8.
In the first half, Stockton jumped ahead 3-0 in the first five minutes before Robidoux scored her seventh goal of the season to cut the deficit to two goals. Minutes later, Robidoux struck again for the Blue Jays, bringing Etown to within one goal with 22 minutes left in the half. She would finish the afternoon with three goals and an assist.
Stockton scored two goals of their own to end the half and take a 5-2 lead into intermission.
In the second half, the Blue Jays were able to cut Stockton’s lead to 6-4 on two straight goals by Stang. Etown cut the deficit to two goals twice more in the game, but never got closer than that. With seven and a half minutes remaining in the game, the score stood at 10-8 Stockton, but the Ospreys rattled off four straight goals to end the game.
Stang finished with three goals and Fuller made 11 saves in the loss; her fourth of the season.
“We are very hopeful for a playoff appearance, and will continue working hard this season to show how much the program has developed and earn this opportunity,” Stang said. The Blue Jays will look to get an impressive streak going to end the season and make the tournament.
Etown will host Eastern University this afternoon on Wolf Field in their second game of a four-game home stand. After today’s game, the Blue Jays will play consecutive Landmark Conference home games against Merchant Marine and Goucher College. Merchant Marine is the only team the Blue Jays were able to defeat last season.
