In rainy, windy, and wet conditions, the Profs took on the Washington (MD) Shorewomen and suffered a tough 13-12 loss on Wednesday, in what was a back-and-forth game. This loss is more emotional for Rowan’s women’s lacrosse, as the Profs’ record now stands at .500 at 2-2.
Junior Calista Burke starred in the loss for the Profs, scoring a season-high four goals as she tried to will her team back into a game. This attempt ultimately fell short, as the Shorewomen took the lead, and game, on a goal with 40 seconds left. Burke always looked to have her way against Washington, seeing that she has scored six goals in the last two matchups against them.
“Every year it’s a close game,” Burke said. “Last year I was kind of put in a situation where we absolutely needed a goal and I was able to just lay it out on the field, so every time we play them I know I’m gonna have to give 100% effort.”
Effort was definitely shown for Burke and the rest of the team due to the fact that the shot differential was +11 in Rowan’s favor.
A large part of this was because of the ball movement that Head Coach Lindsay Delaney has been preaching since the beginning of the season. Most of their possessions in this pouring rain game were down to the last seconds on the shot clock, which chewed up a bunch of time for the Shorewomen.
Both Alexis Lowry and captain Hannah Lombardo were also big contributors for Rowan, with two goals each to help keep the Profs in the game. Lombardo’s last goal was one that gave them the lead in the fourth quarter with under two minutes left. The rain just kept falling and it played a heavy role in the exhibition for both sides, with the two teams combining for 34 turnovers.
“I think it did play a factor… Our shafts are slippery, the ball is popping out, and it honestly is hard to see sometimes, but they’re dealing with the same exact conditions we are, and we can’t use that as an excuse,” Burke said.
There was a controversial call towards the end of the fourth quarter that was due to a goal for the Shorewomen that really had Delaney riled up and her looking unhappy. After the loss, the frustrated head coach wasn’t available for comment on what happened.
“I think we all were obviously struggling because the weather was rough,” Lowry said. “But I feel like collectively we needed to all come together towards the end. We sort of gave up easy opportunities that we could have capitalized on. I think we did play hard, but the game just wasn’t in our favor today.”
With this loss, the Profs will now have to find the strength to move on to the next game, which takes place on March 9 against Susquehanna.
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