After a solid campaign last year, the women’s lacrosse team is back in action. Having ended last season with a 9-8 mark overall and a loss in the first round of the NESCAC tournament, the team has ridden both its depth and outstanding individual contributions to an early season record of 3-2.
“We’re working this season mainly to get further in the playoffs and to be more successful against our NESCAC rivals in-season,” said co-captain Jen Bianculli ’07.
So far, the team has posted a league record of 1-1, including a hard-fought loss against Amherst, in which the Cardinals let a halftime lead slip away, and a resounding win against a strong Tufts team at Tufts. Despite a crushing overtime loss against Babson and a loss to Amherst, the team has established itself with a strong all-around game and should be considered a threat to traditional NESCAC powerhouses, such as Bowdoin and Williams.
So far this season, the Cards have relied on a strong defense anchored by both Bianculli and Beck Dorey-Stein ’08. The defense has held opponents to 9.2 goals per game, partly because of to the standout play of Rachel Stemerman ’08, who ranks third in the NESCAC in save percentage.
Returning after a year in which she scored 50 points, co-captain Amanda Belichick ’07 leads the Cards on offense, along with Courtney Tetrault ’07, Laurel Sticklor ’09, and Sarah Orkin ’09. The Cardinals have shown remarkable depth so far this season, with 10 different players having scored at least one goal already. Orkin leads the team with 19 goals, a tally which places her in the NESCAC’s top five, while Tetrault leads the team with a total of 26 points, using her league-leading 16 assists to propel her to the third-best point total in the league. Tetrault’s strong early play has resulted in the league naming her NESCAC Player of the Week for the week of March 26.
Last weekend the Cards took on perennial NESCAC favorite Bowdoin in front of a large home crowd. While Bowdoin came out hot, closing the first half up 7-4, the Cards stormed back in the second, outscoring the Polar Bears 4-1 to tie the game. Bowdoin controlled the ball for the final four minutes of regulation, but the Cardinal defense denied the Polar Bears a chance to win the game, as Bowdoin failed to produce so much as a shot on goal, leading to overtime.
In overtime, Tetrault rifled a tricky pass to Charlotte Hastings, who buried the shot, giving the Cards the lead for good and snapping Wesleyan’s 13-game losing streak to Bowdoin. The team followed up the victory with a second NESCAC win against Connecticut College on April 4, running their record to 5-2 (3-1 NESCAC) and achieving a national ranking of 12th in the latest poll.
Next up for the Cards is Saturday’s game at Williams. A win against the Ephs, ranked eighth nationally, would likely propel Wes into the top 10 nationally.
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