By Alana Pelosi
The women’s lacrosse team is off to a good start with wins over Iona and the University of Connecticut this past week.
There to guide the Pride was junior Corrine Gandolfi, back from a persistent injury that plagued her all last season. It is clear that surgery was a success for the midfielder, as she notched five goals on Saturday and four yesterday. After her impressive play against Iona, which included two assists in addition to her goals, she captured the season’s first CAA player of the week title. “She’s hard to slow down,” commented Coach Abby Morgan, “She’s on a mission and she will carry the team when she needs to.”
Gandolfi, however was not alone in making such a big contribution. In the win over Iona, sophomore Stephanie Rice and junior Courtney O’Connor scored three goals apiece. Against UConn, it was clear the game was in the Pride’s hands early on in the second half. At halftime, the Pride was up 4-3. The team hurried back onto the field just as the ten-minute period waned and did not slow down. After three quick goals, a visibly rattled UConn called for a time out, but that was no help. Within the first 10 minutes of the second half, the Pride increased their lead to 9-4. “We definitely saw our confidence stay up. There were a couple things in the first half that we needed to change like turnovers, and we were able to change it early in the second half,” said Morgan.
Senior Alysse Ruszkowski set the pace for the defense with six caused turnovers and five groundballs. Another player that was a huge force on the field was freshman Maryann Miller, who collected two early goals. Miller, who scored her first collegiate goal against Iona, also had a stellar game against UConn, scoring three goals. Of her latest impact player, Morgan said, “she’s such a harder worker and she’s a scrapper. We knew to pressure the defense and when she had an opportunity, she scored.”
In a departure from last year’s psyche, the team shows growth, as they seem undeterred by any glitches.
It was clear that last year’s team was not only hurt by injuries, but they suffered from a number of mental errors as well. “It’s great as coaches to see that our team can adjust during the game and make quick changes.” Said Morgan.
Another noticeable change was the new faces in the net. Filling Maisie’s shoes, or cleats for that matter, is junior Mary Cuddihy. Behind Cuddihy is newcomer Jackie Pandolf who saw action against Iona and earned herself three saves.
The Pride will take the field again Saturday when the travel to Providence, RI, to take on Brown. They then will have a week off and time to regroup before hosting Cornell a week later on Saturday, March 7.