ALEX SPIELDENNER
STAFF WRITER
The Franciscan women’s lacrosse team lost its game against the Ave Maria Gyrenes on a windy and wet night last Tuesday, losing by a score of 19-8 at Harding Stadium at 4 p.m.
Ave Maria took control early, scoring three goals in the first few minutes and not even allowing the ball to pass into its side of the field. But Franciscan fought back and scored two goals within two minutes to trim the visitors’ lead to one.
The Gyrenes responded quickly, scoring four times before Franciscan could stop the run with two goals of its own. Ave Maria responded with another two goals, which were followed by one for the Lady Barons. But Ave Maria then went on a 5-1 run to close out the half with a score of 14-6, Barons.
Scoring slowed in the second half, as both teams fatigued and suffered from harsh wind and low temperatures. But the sunset and stadium lights were met with more Gyrene scoring, and though the Lady Barons played hard, most of the long points that ensued ended with goals for the opposing team. The game ended with a final score of 19-8 in favor of Ave Maria.
Much of the Lady Baron offense ran through junior attack Maria Hilkert and sophomore attack Grace Deegan, as Hilkert led the team with five assists and Deegan led the team with six goals.
“We are a younger team,” said head coach Maura Carapelotti. “We’re missing a senior class this year, … (but) that’s what non-conference is for. … This is our opportunity to learn and grow and experiment with people in different positions.”
Carapelotti was also encouraged by some of the things she saw. She said, “We do have a strong transition game, so (we will be) really capitalizing on that in a way to maintain our possession. I think we need to work on our speed a little bit and communication on defense.”
It was only the second game of the season for the Lady Barons, who lost to Heidelberg the previous Tuesday. Ave Maria had played three games prior to the match with Franciscan and had lost all three.
The Lady Barons have yet to begin conference play.
The Lady Barons next home game is Saturday against Siena Heights University at 2 p.m.