The Marist women’s lacrosse team fell to the California Golden Bears in a back-and-forth battle 14-10, dropping their fifth straight game and going winless on their west coast road trip.
Tied 7-7 midway through the third frame, the Foxes conceded a 7-3 run through the rest of the game to fall short after playing strong in the previous quarters.
Sophomore attacker Emily Moes led the attack for the Golden Bears, who recorded five goals. Moes’ goals were killers; she was quick to crush any rhythm that the Foxes accumulated. Junior attacker Courtney Wong kept her teammates engaged with five assists—two of which went to Moes.
Sixth-year goalkeeper Callan Fritsch started in net for California, but after conceding five goals and recording no saves, she was pulled after 19 minutes of action for junior goalkeeper Chloe Rand. Rand was dominant, allowing five and stopping five and acting as a key piece of the win.
Sophomore goalkeeper Megan Morris recorded nine saves to 14 goals allowed for a .391 save percentage.
For Marist, sophomore midfielder Anne Shine led the way with her second hat-trick of the season. Sophomore midfielder Catherine Windsor and senior attacker Alexa Borges contributed with two goals each.
Senior midfielder Chloe Birckhead opened up scoring for both sides. After two straight goals by California, junior midfielder Jesse Manger silenced a potential run to knot the game 2-2 entering the second quarter. Manger continues to be a reliable weapon for the Foxes’ offense.
The second quarter is where scoring took off. Borges and Shine combined for three quick goals to jump out to a 5-2 lead. Steeling themselves and not faltering, California ripped off a 3-0 run of their own to tie the game back at 5-5. Windsor caught fire and netted two-straight for a 7-5 advantage, only to surrender a 6-0 run from the Golden Bears spearheaded by Moes. Suddenly, the Foxes trailed 11-7 early in the final frame.
Senior midfielder Alana Tavares attempted to stop the bleeding with a score of her own, but the Moes and Wong connection struck right back with two consecutive scores to keep the Golden Bears in front 13-8. Borges notched a quick score shortly after, but Moes once again put a halt to any Red Fox momentum with a strike of her own. Shine added her third goal with a minute left to play—not enough time to mount a needed comeback.
Starting March 22 against Rider, the Red Foxes will finally begin MAAC play after starting their season 1-8. They hope to prove their tough out-of-conference schedule adequately prepared them to make a run at the tournament this year.
Edited by Dan Aulbach
Graphic from Kira Crutcher, Photo from John Jankowski
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