By Dominic Rapposelli
Elm Staff Writer
Over the last two weeks Washington College men’s lacrosse emerged victorious from two of their three games played. Both wins were held by eight points. They now sit at 5-2 with less than a week until Centennial Conference play commences.
On Friday, March 10, the men played against the visiting Randolph-Macon College Yellowjackets. WC won the match with a 15-7 victory.
Junior midfielder Gabe Velasquez won 14 of 16 face-offs and added one assist en route to his first Shoreman Player of the Game win.
A strong first and fourth quarter propelled the Shoremen to victory with six goals in the first quarter and five in the fourth quarter.
The Shoremen continued their home games with a 21- 4 loss to the Cortland Red Dragons. Cortland’s coach, Steve Beville, graduated from WC in 1985 and is a member of the WC Athletics Hall of Fame. At halftime, the 1982 men’s lacrosse team was honored as the first WC team to play in a Division III title game.
According to senior Luke Brennan, the team had a sense of urgency all week. The team felt the next game was a “must win” game, Brennan said..
In a contest versus Mary Washington University, the Shoremen bounced back to emerge victorious at 14-6. Brennan led the team in scores with three goals.
One of Brennan’s goals came off a pass from senior Kain Domenech with three seconds to go in the first half. The goal would put the Shoremen up three points over the visiting Eagles at the half.
The Shoremen will host visiting Oberlin College on Wednesday, March 25. With conference play around the corner, the team is excited to face this year’s competition.
“Every conference game is an opportunity to compete, improve, and show what these guys on the Eastern Shore have worked so hard to achieve,” Brennan said.
The Shorewomen meanwhile, finished 2-1 over three games and advanced their overall record to 4-3. Similar to the Shoremen, Conference play is right around the corner.
The Shorewomen won both home contests, with the first one being a 10-7 victory over Rowan University. The game remained contested until the Shorewomen pulled away in the fourth quarter, scoring four goals to Rowan’s one.
WC added another win to their ledger with a 15-6 victory over the visiting Randolph-Macon Yellowjackets.
This victory put the Shorewomen at an undefeated 3-0 at home on the season while outsourcing their opponents by almost double at 39-20.
Freshman Mia Salvatiera led the attack and contributed a game high of five goals. This is also a career high for her. Freshman Anna Wilson added one of the memorable goals on the day with an score off a pass from junior Abby Laubach.
“We were up and working through one of our plays. I saw the spacing and at the perfect moment Abby saw me slip into the eight meter,” Wilson said.
A huge performance from the team over the Yellowjackets propelled the Shorewomen to win both Centennial Conference offensive and defensive players of the week. Senior midfielder Ellie Morrall took offensive player while senior goalkeeper Sydney Wingate recieved defensive player honors.
The Shorewomen dropped a tightly contested game at Mary Washington University on March 19. A 16-12 loss to the Eagles would come after a stunning eight goal third quarter by the home team to go up 13-8. The Shorewomen were outscored in the second half 11-5.
Three Shorewomen would each score points of their own with Morrall, Laubach, and junior Morgan Sutherland adding to their season totals.
“I think we will get some rest then prepare well throughout this week,” Wilson said. The Shorewomen have a week off from games.
Both lacrosse teams will kick off Conference play on Saturday, March 25 at Roy Kirby Jr. Stadium. The women will host the visiting the Ursinus College Bears and the men will host the McDaniel College Green Terror.
Photo by Grace Hazlehurst
Photo Caption: The Shoremen celebrate a goal in their win over the Washington and Lee University Generals.