M-W battles hard at home against Goshen

The Crusaders began their 2023 lacrosse season at home against the Gladiators of Goshen.

Head Coach Cathryne Dipietrantonio and Assistant Coach Elise Fugowski look to build a successful season with a strong core of nine seniors and a talented group of underclassmen.

Crusader Claire Varcadipane got the Crusaders started by scoring on a free position shot with 19:19 left in the half. The Gladiators answered right back and tied the score 13 seconds later.

Teresa Jacoby put the Crusaders back up 2-1 but the Gladiators took over from there and scored the next 6 in a row to go up 7-2. Jacoby, Gracie White and Amanda Piazza each scored in rapid succession and with 1:07 left in the half, the Crusaders had cut the lead to 7-5. But the Gladiators were able to score one more time before the half and took a 8-5 lead into the half.

Crusader senior co-captain Reilly Groff took the second half face-off and raced down the field and scored just 25 seconds into the second half to cut into the Gladiator lead. When Jacoby scored her third goal of the game with 17:17 left to play, the Crusaders had cut the lead to 1.

But the day belonged to Goshen as they scored twice more to go up 10-7 with 14 minuets left on the clock. The Crusaders tried to rally, and Reilly Groff scored her second goal of the game to cut the lead was to 2. The Gladiators again took over and scored 3 more times in a row and pushed the lead back to 13-8. Madison Gollinger scored late in the game for the Crusaders and the Gladiators scored once more as the final buzzer sounded.

The Crusaders 14-9 loss brings their record to 0-1 on the season. Their next game will be against the Raiders of James I O’Neil.