Women’s lax suffers second half lapse in 7-5 loss to La Salle

Rodney Robinson
Contributing Writer

In a tight defensive battle, women’s lacrosse fell short against conference rival La Salle University by a score of 7-5, in the Rams first ever Atlantic 10 contest at Cary Street Field.

The Rams were led by two freshman midfielders in Sky Hyatt and Sofia Edmond. Hyatt had her second hat trick of the season on Saturday. After allowing an early goal in the first period, Hyatt would tied the game with her first goal assisted by freshman Clare Murphy.

After having a strong performance against conference foe, the University of Richmond on Friday, freshman Sofia Edmond would score two important goals in the first half giving the Rams a two goal lead with 10 minutes remaining in the first period.

The slow start in the second half proved to be the achilles heel for the Rams. After a 3-3 tie in the first half, the Explorers jumped out to a quick lead in the second. The Explorers found the net four-straight-times after the break, extending the lead to 7-4.

Goals were hard to come by in the second period for VCU. Tough defense by the Explorers held the Rams to two goals in the second period. Hyatt would go on to score two more to trim the deficit. However it that wasn’t enough to complete comeback effort.

Hyatt, an Eldersburg, Maryland native, leads the teams in goals with 22 to accompany her 17 assists. She admits to the two conference losses stinging a bit, but said her team has come together to respond to adversity.

“I think we came out better as a team than we have all season,” Hyatt said. “We’ve had two tough losses back-to-back to open conference play, but we are ready to work on Tuesday and work on some of those mistakes.”

Head coach Jen O’Brien has been disappointed with the recent outcomes, but understands these outcomes only provide experience for the road ahead.

“I think we had a little bit of a mental let down after a really tough, energized game against our crosstown rival to open A-10 play on Friday,” O’Brien said. “Nevertheless, we are committed to getting back to work on Tuesday to focus on our mental toughness, confidence as well as continuing to stick together as a team both on and off of the field.”

Lacrosse will hit the road this weekend and embark on a two-game conference road trip taking them to separate conference opponents. They play Duquesne University on April 8 and St. Bonaventure University on April 10.