Jaylen Carr – Sports Editor
With a chance to make it to the Northeast 10 playoffs at stake, the women’s lacrosse team fell short of Assumption University 12-9 in the season’s final game.
“We gave them everything they can handle,” Head Coach Kevin Siedlecki said. “They got a couple of lucky breaks at the end for those last couple of possessions, and they took advantage of it.”
Coming into the April 28 matchup against Assumption, the Owls need this win to secure the eighth and final spot in the playoffs. Despite the loss, the team set a new program record for wins with nine. The Owls went 9-8 on the season, having a better road record than home record.
Siedlecki said despite Assumption being a good team, they respected their scoring ability as an offense.
“The fact that they were stalling when we had a card, they pulled it out and stole it with eight minutes to go in the game,” Siedlecki said. “That just shows you how much they respect our effort today because they did not want to give us the ball back. They were trying to run the clock out with a one, two-goal lead.”
The Owls were tied with Assumption early in the fourth quarter until Assumption scored three goals in the final 10 minutes.
“Of course, we are disappointed, but we were right there and could have come out with a win if a couple of things go our way,” Siedlecki said. “We have a lot to be proud of.”
Attacker Bayleigh Takacs, a graduate student, had two goals and five assists and broke a program record once again. Early in the first quarter, Takacs assisted on a goal scored by attacker Alexandra Ruel, a senior, to break the Owls’ single-season points record. Takacs finished the season with 78 points and five broken records.
Despite the loss, players agreed with Siedlecki about the team’s effort against a formidable opponent.
“We came out pretty strong, and I think we all knew that it was all or nothing in this game, so that was in our heads the whole game,” Takacs said. “We had a few unlucky calls go our way.”
The team made some uncharacteristic mistakes throughout the game, Takacs said.
“Overall, I thought we played a lot of heart, and we played a lot of hustle; that’s all we can ask for,” Takacs said.
Ruel said the team wanted to win this game for the seniors and the graduate students because it was ‘Senior Day.’
“We really tried our best and fought really hard and gave them a good game,” Ruel said.
The Owls got production from attacker Kirsten McIntire, a junior, scoring three goals which led the team. Takacs led the team with seven points.
Despite the rainy and cold conditions in the game, Siedlecki said the point of emphasis coming into the game was to limit turnovers.
“It is tough to measure when the weather was like this,” Siedlecki said. “It was a lot of sloppy play on both sides, but we still ended up with 15 turnovers which is slightly below our average.”
Ruel said Siedlecki’s message reiterated the significance of the game, but he also wanted the team to play their game.
“He reiterated that he was proud of what we have done all season,” Ruel said.
Takacs said it was the last game, and Siedlecki wanted the team to leave on the line.
Siedlecki said the Owls lost due to Assumption scoring three goals early, and the Owls turned the ball in the first quarter. The Owls had seven turnovers in the first quarter.
“We dug ourselves a hole early,” Siedlecki said. “We climbed back out of it before the first quarter was over, but it is tough.”
Siedlecki said the strategy offensively was to move the ball around and try to introduce a new scheme, but the weather made it challenging.
“It is not about x’s and o’s in a game like that,” Siedlecki said. “It is about effort; it’s about heart, it’s about desire.”
Ruel said the team gave extraordinary effort throughout the game. “We fought to the end, and we didn’t give up; we didn’t put our heads down.”
