Saturday, March 3 on Wolf Field at Elizabethtown College, the women’s lacrosse team beat Penn State Abington 17-3. First-year Kate Ziegler, junior Madelyn Baker and seniors Carly and Katie Thompson each scored a hat trick for the Blue Jays.
The Nittany Lions put the first point on the board three minutes into the match, but Etown was not intimidated. C. Thompson’s first goal began a run of eight straight points for the Blue Jays. Ziegler, Baker and the Thompson sisters contributed to the growing score, along with sophomore Jesse Sartor.
“Our players were starting to come together and see connections to get the ball into the back of the net,” Ziegler said. “I am very proud of each player on my team and how positive we are towards each other.”
With seven minutes left in the first half, Penn State attempted to make a comeback, but Etown held their ground. Four more points were added on by Baker. K. Thompson and first-year Emily Garvin brought the score to 12-3 at the end of the half.
Penn State remained scoreless in the second half, the field dominated by the Blue Jays. Sophomores Mirthe Berends and Abby Spessard each got their first goals of the season.
“We still need to work on looking for the smartest option, not the quickest options, which is something we’ve focused on this season,” Baker said. “But overall, the team played great as a unit and we got to utilize our whole team.”
Tuesday, March 13 the women played again. This time against Alvernia University. The Jays took a win with 17-9.
The women will take on Kean University on the road this Saturday, March 17 at 1 p.m.
The men’s lacrosse team also played March 3 at Wolf Field and walked away with a victory. The Blue Jays defeated Shenandoah University 9-5 thanks to an aggressive offense and strong defense.
“It is very early on in the season and our team’s best lacrosse is yet to come,” sophomore Mike Scrafano noted.
Etown’s goalie, junior Jack Myers, shut out the Hornets in the first quarter. In under a minute, sophomore Scott Nizolak got the first goal of the match. The remainder of the quarter was scoreless for both teams.
First-year Cody Richter added two more points in favor of the Blue Jays to start the second quarter. Shenandoah managed to score three points, but Etown stayed ahead thanks to a goal from Scrafano.
The Hornets were once again scoreless in the third quarter. Two points were added by Scrafano and junior Ben Hiltebeitel, widening the gap. The Blue Jays kept their lead in the fourth quarter due to goals by Nizolak, sophomore Mike DiGenova and junior Andrew Watts. Shenandoah fought until the end of the match, scoring two more points in the final quarter.
“We had a good win against Shenandoah, but we still have more to work on as a team,” Nizolak said. “We are working hard every day and have to focus on our next few big opponents coming up.”
The next game for the men’s team will be Saturday, March 17 at Franklin & Marshall College at 1 p.m.
