In a contest threatened by impending storms, lacrosse defeated Saint Joseph’s 13-9 in its Atlantic 10 home opener on a dreary day at the Mount Vernon Campus Friday.
“We played one good game, and only half of another against LaSalle last weekend,” head coach Tracy Coyne said. “We did a nice job today of putting that behind us and moving on.”
The Colonials (4-7, 2-1 A-10) were bolstered by four goals from senior attacker and A-10 leading goal-scorer Rachel Mia, who moved into third all-time in program history with 121 career goals following the victory over the Hawks (5-6, 0-3 A-10).
“We definitely try to keep defenders off balance,” Mia said. “The faster the ball moves, the more likely defenders are to trip up on their feet. So as long as we’re moving the ball around like that, we’ll get those inside cuts and those drives.”
Mia’s performance was padded by a hat trick from sophomore midfielder Michaela Lynch, while junior Gabbi Hull and sophomore Bailey Forcier each tallied a pair of goals to give GW the edge offensively.
Coyne said that scoring sprees like these are exactly the type of outbursts she loves to see from her players. However, she added that it is crucial for the team to recover on defense and diminish the pace at times.
“I like to play up-tempo and push the fast break, but I think there was also a point there where we had some solid defensive stands and were able to slow the game down a little bit,” Coyne said.
Senior goalkeeper Mackenzie Jones, who made eight saves in the four-point victory, was an integral part of those staunch defensive efforts.
“We always talk about staying composed defensively and eliminating runs,” Jones said. “It’s always ‘go after the ball…’ if defenders have to give up an eight meter, I always tell them to do that because I can actually see the ball easier.”
The Colonials initially jumped out to a 4-0 advantage behind Mia and Hull, and would extend their lead to 7-3 by halftime.
The Hawks scored the opening goal of the second half, but the Colonials responded with three goals with 22:54 remaining and never looked back. GW also had a 25-18 edge in ground balls as well as a 27-24 advantage in shots on the day.
“This was a great response and all-around it was a solid game,” Coyne said. “Everyone contributed today so it was a good win.”
The Colonials have a week off before playing Richmond at home on April 10 in the second game of its four-match homestand. The opening draw is scheduled for 4 p.m.
