The Plattsburgh State women’s lacrosse team continued their perfect season on Saturday when the Cardinals faced off against the College of Mount Saint Vincent and remained perfect after coming out on top with a tight score of 12-11 at Plattsburgh.
Freshman attacker/defender Deja Richardson scored the game-winning goal off an assist from sophomore attacker/midfielder Allie Vangas with 25.6 seconds left.
“It felt really good,” Richardson said. “We were so nervous about losing and we kept doubting ourselves. We could’ve won by a lot more but it felt really good to bring that W home.”
Richardson finished the game with two goals, an assist, and a ground ball, while Vangas secured a goal, an assist, and a ground ball, including two caused turnovers.
It was a hard fight all the way until the last second. Neither team went on a streak of at least three goals, as both teams exchanged one or two goals throughout the entire match. The score was tied 6-6 at the end of the first half, and PSU came away with a win by just one point in a hard-fought game.
“This team is so strong and willing to fight,” Vangas said. When we’re down one or two, we immediately want to fight to get back. We’re not just giving up right away, so we all have that heart to win, which is what I think we really needed this year.”
Junior midfielder Frankie Porcaro, senior midfielder Kerri Corcoran, and freshman attacker Katie Kallamni each tallied two goals, including an assist from Kallamni, three ground balls from Corcoran, and two ground balls from Porcaro. Goals also came from sophomore attacker Emily Caoili, including an assist, freshman midfielder/attacker Lindsay Guzzetta, and freshman attacker/midfielder Kate Kennedy.
Junior defender Claire Wiley led the team in ground balls with four and also caused two turnovers. Draw controls were led by Guzzetta and freshman defender/midfielder Lacey Greenamyre with three. Greenamyre also tallied two ground balls and caused a turnover.
Both goalies played an equal amount of minutes during the contest. Sophomore goalie Alexa Cassidy made five saves for the cards, and freshman goalie Sarah Braja tallied three saves.
PSU outshot Mount Saint Vincent 37-25 and held a 23-18 advantage in ground balls. The Cards also went 14-for-19 on clears and forced Mount Saint Vincent to 23 turnovers, compared to 17 from PSU.
The Cards continued their historic start on Tuesday when the team visited Castleton University and easily came out victorious with a final score of 23-7.
With the win, the team has doubled its wins from last season.
“It honestly feels great,” Vangas said. “We were so used to losing last year and I feel like we’ve really made such a huge effort each game to make sure we don’t ever feel like that again.”
The women’s lacrosse team set a new program-high for total goals in a season with 23 goals and tied the program record for margin of victory with 16 goals.
PSU got hot immediately, going on a streak of seven goals just after Castleton scored a goal in the first minute of the contest. The Cards then went on two more streaks of four goals in just the first half. PSU led 15-4 at the end of the first half and continued to hold their comfortable lead for the rest of the game, sealing the win for the Cards.
“Last year we only beat them by one and it was a back to back game the whole time,” Porcaro said. “I think we played together as a family and a team, which kept us going. A lot of people scored, and some people scored their first goal. We just wanted to see each other do well together on the field.”
Ten different players scored for PSU. Vangas scored a career-high five goals and also caused two turnovers, while Porcaro netted four goals, grounded three balls, and controlled a career-high seven draws. Caoili and Richardson each tallied five points, three of them being goals and two of them being assists, while Caoili grounded two balls and caused a turnover.
Guzzetta filled up the stat sheet again for the Cards, scoring two goals, grounding a team-high five balls, causing three turnovers, and controlled two draws. Freshman midfielder Caroline Noia tallied her first two collegiate goals of her career while grounding two balls, causing two turnovers, and controlling two draws.
“The freshmen are making a huge impact,” Vangas said. “Last year there wasn’t as much of a bond. We’re always with each other and I think we need that bond in order to work well on the field.”
Freshman attacker Rhiannon Morgenroth, senior attacker Katelyn McGlauflin, Kallamni, and Corcoran each tallied one goal, including an assist from Corcoran. Corcoran and Kallamni each grounded three balls, while Corcoran controlled six draws and Kallamni caused four turnovers. Freshman midfielder/defender Emma McLaughlin had a good stat line for the game as well, which included four ground balls, three caused turnovers, and a draw control.
Both goalies had a quiet night due to just 11 shots on goal from Castleton. Both Cassidy and Braja turned aside two shots while allowing just seven goals.
PSU outshot Castleton 48-18 and held a 27-16 advantage in ground balls. The Cards also forced Castleton into 26 turnovers, compared to just 15 from PSU. The Cards also won the draw control battle, 18-14, and went 12-for-16 on clears.
PSU now rises to 4-0 overall for the first time in program history and stays home for its next matchup against Bard College, who are also undefeated.
“It would be a big confidence booster if we win,” Richardson and Porcaro said. “We lost to them by a lot last year, but we’re desperate to win, and I feel like this one will be a good competition.”
Email Nate Bryson at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
