Men’s and women’s lacrosse earn wins
After a difficult start to the season in which they lost three opening games to nationally ranked opponents, the Saint Joseph’s University men’s lacrosse team picked up their first two victories of the season. The first came on March 1 on the road against the St. John’s University Red Storm, while the other came at Manhattan College on March 4.
“Just trying to play our game for 60 minutes with no lolls and no lapses I think will be the key [this season],” said Head Coach Taylor Wray.
Against St. John’s, the Hawks jumped out to an early lead, scoring the game’s first four goals, with junior Chris Blewitt scoring two of them. In the final nine minutes of the half, St. John’s was able to respond with three unanswered goals to cut the deficit to one.
St. Joe’s got hot again at the start of the second half, scoring another four consecutive goals to take an 8-3 lead. The Red Storm scored twice more before the game came to a close, but it wouldn’t be enough for them. The Hawks won by a score of 8-6 and chalked up their first tally in the win column this year.
The team carried their momentum into their next game to obliterate Manhattan by a score of 18-6. By halftime, the Hawks had already led 11-4 thanks to a 6-1 second quarter. The second half wasn’t much different as the Hawks extended their lead to 12 goals before the final horn sounded.
Blewitt had a big week, totaling eight goals and three assists in the Hawks’ two victories.
“We’ve been kind of waiting for Chris [Blewitt] to have a couple games like this,” Wray said. “I think from a coaching staff standpoint, certainly we know that he’s capable of playing the way that he has the last two games. We’re just really, really happy for Chris. He’s been terrific the last couple games.”
The women’s team competed in the Holy War on March 1 as the Hawks lost to rival Villanova University Wildcats, 11-10. St. Joe’s found themselves in a hole quickly. Within the first ten minutes of the game, the Wildcats were up 3-0. By halftime, they boasted a 5-1 lead.
After the half, the Hawks scored six of the half’s first seven goals and took a 7-6 lead.
“I think so far in our season our team has shown a lot of resiliency,” said Head Coach Alex Kahoe. “I think they came out at halftime and really stepped it up and flipped the switch and were able to play the typical lacrosse that we need to see out there.”
The game remained tight and was tied at 10-10 until there was just about a minute and a half remaining in the game. It was then that Villanova’s Katie Comerford scored on a free position shot to regain a lead for the Wildcats. Before the Hawks could respond, the buzzer sounded and the game was over.
Graduate student Mallory Grey provided plenty of offense for the Hawks in the loss, scoring four of their ten goals.
“Malloy [Grey] is an exceptional player,” Kahoe said. “She’s a captain and she’s a leader. She also brings a lot of experience that definitely adds to the team. I think she definitely stepped up big on Wednesday and helped our team fight back.”
The second game for the Hawks ended with a more favorable result – an 18-17 victory for St. Joe’s. The first half featured an offensive explosion exhibiting 24 goals between the two teams. By halftime, the Hawks led 13-11.
By the end of the game, freshman Hope Anhut had totaled five goals and sophomore Rebecca Lane provided another four.
The women’s team will play again on March 10 at 10 p.m. at San Diego State University. As for the men’s team, they’ll host Monmouth University at 4 p.m. on March 10.
