Women’s lacrosse drops first two games of season
The Muskingum Fighting Muskies women’s lacrosse team visited John F. Wiley on Wednesday night to take on the home Waynesburg University Yellow Jackets. The Muskies scored three goals in the first minute and a half of action and never looked back as Waynesburg dropped their first contest of the year 18-8.
After surrendering the first 3 scores of the match, the Jackets pulled themselves back into the contest thanks to goals by juniors Shannon Morgan and Abbie Miller. Unfortunately, a 6-0 run by the Muskies which gave them a 9-3 lead after Waynesburg tallied a late goal by senior Morgan Vesco.
The second half of action provided more problems as the Yellow Jackets gave up the first four goals of the second half to fall behind 13-3. The Jackets took one last shot at a comeback thanks to three-straight scores.
Juniors Brandi Rohal, Holly Bachman and Danielle Beckford pulled their team to within seven points with just under 16 minutes left in the contest. However, Muskingum ended the contest on a 5-2 run to seal up the win and ensure a happy bus ride home.
Despite being outscored, out chanced, and out shot, the Yellow Jackets ended up holding the advantage in ground balls 11-7. Although head coach Stephanie Benkowski noticed there was a lot of missed chances add to their totals.
“We missed some ground balls that led to pressure on our defense,” said Benkowski. ” We are going to have a lot of defensive and ground ball drills coming up in this week of practice because its a huge part of the game.”
Despite the lopsided score, there are positives to pull from the first match of the year, which can be serve the Yellow Jackets down the road. One such a thing is the resiliency that the team showed being down twice and nearly coming back to tie the match up.
Junior midfielder Jess Rains thinks that it proves that this team has mental fortitude it lacked in previous years.
“I’m proud we were able to show that we can comeback in games,” said Rains. “I think it shows that our communication and team chemistry has come a long way.”
Another take away from the first match was players getting their first collegiate goals. One such a player was Morgan Vesco, who scored her first goal of her college career with 58 seconds left in the half. She thinks she can relax more now that she found the back of the net in the first game of the season.
“I wouldn’t say it was a relief, but it was definitely exhilarating to get that feeling of scoring,” said Vesco. “It took away that fear of me thinking I may not be able to contribute to the team.”
The women’s lacrosse team then opened up their eight-game Ohio River Lacrosse Conference Saturday when they took on the visiting Mount St. Joseph at John F. Wiley Stadium. Although both teams were knotted at five’s at halftime the Lions went on to outscore the Yellow Jackets 8-4 in the second billing of action to win the match 13-9.
The Jackets once again found themselves down 2-0 in the opening minutes of the match and came roaring back to take a one goal lead in the match with goals from Rains and Miller.
The Jackets and Lions traded goals the rest of the way in the first half of action. The match’s back-and-forth theme continued past the halftime break as the two squads alternated the period’s first four goals. Rains and Miller each beat the opposing keeper, and with 25:16 left in regulation, the score was tied up at 7-7.
Unfortunately, the Lions were able to gain firm control of the game with a four-goal spurt that lasted until the 41:55 mark of the contest. Miller scored two more times before the final horn was sounded, but it wasn’t enough, as Mt. St. Joseph wrapped up the four-point victory.
Miller played arguably her best collegiate game by scoring a game-high five goals and tying for the contest lead with five total points. Rains notched a hat trick in the loss, while junior Shannon Morgan recorded her first assist as a Yellow Jacket.
Miller believes that despite her five-goal outburst that this team needs more spread out scoring to contend in these ORLC matches
“It is nice to score those goals and I am happy I was able to contribute,” said Miller. “I think there is a lot of people playing in new positions and the scoring has suffered while people get comfortable.”
Senior goalkeeper JoHanna Phillips did all she could to help her team win by stopping 17-30 shots on goal. The Jackets were the model of offensive efficiency, as they were successful on nine-of-10 attempts on the net.
Morgan, who is in her first year on the team and playing lacrosse thinks the defense is improving and should ease the pressure that has been coming the way of Phillips.
“I think communication is huge on defense especially for the new people on the team especially the people who have never played before,” said Morgan. ” I can see it improving in practice and from the first game to this last one.”
After two home games to start the year The yellow jackets will play the next 6-7 on foreign turf. Despite this Miller thinks it’s a great chance to reverse fortunes in this infant season thus far.
“Road trips really make a team bond,’ said Miller. “I think if we can win some games on the road we will have some momentum going into the remaining two games at home.”
Waynesburg is off until Tuesday, March 22, when it travels to Medaille for a nonconference match. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.