The women’s lacrosse team (4-10) finished its 2010 campaign on a high note, defeating Connecticut College 17-13 at home to continue its nine-game winning streak against the Camels. This was the final game of the season for both teams. It was also the Cardinals’ first NESCAC victory of the season, as they had fallen to their previous eight NESCAC opponents, all of whom were ranked in the top 25 nationally.
The teams battled to a 9-9 tie at halftime, but Wesleyan opened the second half on a 4-0 run for a 13-9 lead it would not relinquish. Allie Lynch ’11 assisted on three of the four Cardinal goals to open the second period; Sarah Hoefle ’10, Lydia Kring ’13 and Erin McCarthy ’10 were the beneficiaries of Lynch passes, and Jess Chukwu ’11 also scored. Wesleyan never let the margin drop below three over the final 21:32 of the contest, and held as much as a five-goal cushion (15-10) with 16:36 remaining on a free-position tally by Eileen Gaffney ’12.
In addition to the great team victory, an impressive individual milestone was reached during the match, as Lynch tied a Wesleyan school record for assists in a game with eight. This spree added to her team-leading season total of 50 points, and she became just the third player in Wesleyan history to rack up 50 in a single season. She had six goals and a school-record of 44 assists on the year, enough to lead the NESCAC in assists this season, and rank her 11th nationally in assists per game. She now also holds the Wesleyan standard for career assists with 70, surpassing the previous mark of 59. With 37 goals to go with her 70 assists, Lynch becomes the 11th Wesleyan player to eclipse the 100-point plateau for a career, as she holds the #9 spot on the career-scoring list with 107.
Chukwu was one of three Cardinals to post a hat trick in the contest, pacing Wesleyan with 31 goals on the year. Also scoring hat tricks were Gaffney and Averill Roberto ’13. Hoefle finished the game with two goals and an assist for a three-point afternoon. Chukwu has elevated her career goal-scoring figure to 81, and has scored 24 or more in each of her three seasons. She will look to become the fourth Cardinal ever to net 100 career goals when the 2011 campaign rolls around.
In the Wesleyan net, keeper Maggie Drowica ’12 tied her career high by making 18 saves, a figure she has produced twice in the past, most recently vs. Colby on April 10.
The Cardinals will look to build on the momentum from this game next season as they return with most of their starting line-up. Despite the growing pains this season, the future looks bright for this young Cardinal team, as they look to become a bigger player in what is by far the deepest conference in the country.
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