By Dom Rapposelli
Elm Staff Writer
Shoremen lacrosse jumps out to a 2-1 start, their best since the 2021 season, after besting the visiting Elizabethtown College Blue Jays 14-11. The two teams met after the Shoremen’s loss to Washington and Lee University.
The Shoremen put a fight against Washington and Lee, however the team ultimately got the better of the Shoremen. However, the team would never trail in their three point victory over Elizabethown.
“We rebounded as a team after that game, having a feeling that we can play with whoever if we play the best to our abilities as a team.” senior attacker Brady McFalls said.
McFalls notched his two goals in the winning effort, bringing his season total to five.
“We kept the intensity by being able to control the controllables and play together as a team.” McFalls said. “We were able to hold on together and get the win that we needed and desired.”
Senior attacker Ewan Temple led the effort with three points that night as well as an assist.
Temple was quick to put the spotlight on other members of the team. “I have five other guys out there around me that make plays on their own that allow me to get to spots that allow me to put the ball in the net,” he said.
“We don’t want to look too far down the road, rather focus on going 1-0 every time we step on the field,” Temple said.
The Shoremen won their third game of the season at Widener University. Temple led the team with seven goals in the 22-16 victory.
The team now sits at 3-1, their best record since the 2018 season.
The Shorewomen sit at 2-2, after they left their meeting against York College with a 14-9 loss. York was the first of five ranked opponents the Shorewomen will face this season.
The Shorewomen took their only lead of the night in the first quarter. A goal from junior Morgan Sutherland gave the team a 2-1 lead. York would then take the lead and never relinquish.
According to Sutherland thinks games against tough teams can help better the team long term.
“The out of conference games we have prepare us well for our season. We play a lot of tough teams out of conference in order to prepare us for the very competitive Centennial Conference,” Sutherland said.
The Conference is home to three nationally ranked teams who also share National Collegiate Athletes Association tournament aspirations.
According to sophomore Cate Manos, “Our game against York really showed us areas we need to work on, for a specific example, staying in front of our cutters.”
According to Manos, once conference play starts, the Shorewomen will be ready to hit the ground running and make some waves.
“After a hard-fought game against 12 ranked York, we have to keep our heads up despite the loss. We now proved to ourselves that we can compete and hang with the best of the best teams,” Manos said.
Senior midfielder Ellie Morrall contributed four of the nine goals on the evening, Her season total now sits at a team leading 11 (second in the Conference).
Junior defender Abby Laubach won her 100th career draw control. She joins Morrall as the only other player on the roster to reach the milestone. Laubach is also just the fourteenth player in program history to achieve the feat.
“As a small team competing against teams with very large rosters, we need to make sure we focus on controlling the pace of the game. We need to maximize our time and possessions on attack in order to maintain a pace of the game we can keep up with.” Sutherland said.
The Shorewomen’s best lacrosse could still be ahead of them this season. “Our loss, though frustrating, helped us figure out areas we need to work on and how to compete with tough teams in the future,” Sutherland said.
The Shorewomen lost a close game against Salisbury University. The Shorewomen lost 6-9 and fall to 2-2.
Photo Courtesy of WC Athletics
Photo Caption: Senior attacker Ewan Temple in men’s lacrosse’s home game against Widener University. He scored five times during the game.\