The Women’s Lacrosse team started their season with a strong 3-0 record, including wins against Montclair State University (16-2) for their season opener on February 22, Kean University (20-4) on March 2, and most recently, Rowan University on March 4. The Ducks beat Rowan in a hard-fought victory for a final score of 12-11 at the Rowan Lacrosse and Soccer Complex in Glassboro, NJ. This is the second straight season that the team defeated Rowan.
The game was truly back-and-forth between the two teams, with the leading team changing five times throughout the match. Sophomore Emily Smart was the first in the game to score by scoring an unassisted shot two minutes and 30 seconds into the game. Even though Rowan scored two goals almost back to back, fifth-year Camryn Rogers and senior Maddie Schmidt tied the game, with each team with three points to finish the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Rogers dominated on the offensive side. She scored three goals in just over four minutes. Along with Rogers, fifth-year Morgan Westerby added a goal for the Ducks to give the lead to Stevens. However, this lead did not last long, as the score at the end of the quarter had the Ducks down by one goal to Rowan’s eight.
The third quarter was Stevens’ most successful as compared to Rowan’s. Westerby scored two unassisted goals, and she also assisted another one of Rogers’ goals, leading to the Ducks ultimately scoring three goals while Rowan had zero in this quarter.
In the fourth quarter, sophomore Anna Velardi scored a goal two minutes and 15 seconds into the playing time, furthering the lead that Stevens had over Rowan to three. Again, this lead did not last long, as three minutes later Rowan scored another goal. With six minutes remaining in the quarter, another Rowan goal was scored, further shortening the gap between Stevens and Rowan to one goal. For the Ducks, Smart scored again with three minutes left, bringing the gap back to two goals, but eventually, Rowan scored with only 47 seconds left on the clock, bringing the game’s results to 12-11.
This game brought about some strong performances. Rogers finished with an impressive five goals, Westerby tallied four points, Smart scored two goals, and Velardi and Schmidt each added one goal. Additionally, senior Julieann Murphy added an assist. Graduate student Lauren Cunniff started in the goal, making 11 saves, causing one turnover, and stopping two ground balls. Additionally, the Ducks finished with a 14-13 advantage on draw controls, where Rogers and Westerby each had four, and first-year Stefanie Sellitto and senior Zoe Cook each added two.
