By Ajan Caneda
Writer
Behind a four-goal performance from Madison Hurwitz ’13, the women’s lacrosse team pulled off a 21-9 victory at home last Tuesday against Howard as it closed out the season with a 5-12 overall record. Arriana Sajjad ’15 ended the regular season with 38 goals and 51 points, both first-year records.
After some slow starts this season, the Bison were motivated to pull ahead early. Five different players scored the first five goals for the Orange and Blue. Hurwitz, off assists from Katelyn Miller ’14 and Molly Ford ’14, then nailed two straight goals that gave the Bison a 7-2 lead. The active passing kept Howard out of reach, as Lindsey Ferro ’14 had two straight assists that led to goals from Emily Kookogey ’15 and Sajjad. The Bison were ahead 11-4 at halftime.
The offense continued to dominate as it went on to score five more goals in the first 12 minutes of the second half, including one from Carly Downs ’15, her first of the season. Howard answered with two goals of its own to pull back within 10. But the Orange and Blue would end all hopes of a comeback with goals from Downs and Blair McDonald ’15. Claire Doyle ’15 scored her first career goal at the 0:28 remaining mark, while Sajjad ended the game with another goal.
Sajjad, Miller and Kookegey each finished with hat tricks, and four players had three assists each. But it was not all offense, as the Bison also forced 25 turnovers.
Last Saturday, a 7-0 Colgate run made all the difference, as the Orange and Blue fell to the Raiders 15-8 at home, preventing them from picking up what would have been their first conference win. Sajjad and Miller both posted half tricks in the loss.
Miller opened the game with a goal for the Bison, but Colgate went on a 4-0 run after that initial goal. Sajjad scored two goals within two minutes that cut the deficit to 4-3. Colgate then showcased its streaky offense by nailing four unanswered goals to end the half.
“Colgate is a very polished team. Many of the players are very experienced and have been selected to the All-League team in the past and this season as well,” head coach Randall Goldsborough said. “We did give the ball up many times on the attacking end in the first half with many of those turnovers leading to fast break goals for them.”
The run continued with three straight Colgate goals to start the second half. The Raiders kept the Bison from making a run of their own, holding them to two goals in the first 27 minutes of the half. The offense came too late for the Orange and Blue, who scored four of the last five goals in the game.
“We have the talent. We just need to continue to build our confidence, and that is what we will be focusing on in the fall,” Goldsborough said.