Head Coach Kelly Wall and Assistant Coach Josh Walker address the team during halftime at home against Fredonia March 30.
By Justin Rushia
The Plattsburgh State Cardinals women’s lacrosse team went on a roller coaster ride of emotions this past week.
The Cardinals (2-7, 1-2) took on SUNYAC powerhouse Cortland (6-4, 4-0) on Wednesday, March 27, for an away conference game loss, Fredonia Blue Devils (4-7, 0-3) March 30 — which also marked Plattsburgh’s Senior Day — and New Paltz Hawks (10-0, 3-0) on Wednesday, April, 3, where it lost 1-18.
Plattsburgh dropped its first conference game to Cortland, losing by a wide margin of 2-22. Later in the week, the Cards won at home 11-10 in a heated match against Fredonia, when sophomore attacker Cynthia Barnosky sank the tie-breaking shot with 4:26 left in the fourth quarter.
Plattsburgh has had a rocky start to the season, securing a record of just 1-5 before its game against Cortland.
After losing five games in total last season, the Red Dragons have not had the start that fans expected, having a record of only 3-4 going into its matchup against the Cardinals.
Ahead of the match, Plattsburgh emphasized focusing on its own game. Plattsburgh wasn’t worried about what Cortland would do or how it would come out. As long as it could play its game and play to its strengths, the team believed that it had a shot to make the game competitive, Head Coach Kelly Wall said.
Plattsburgh was outmatched coming out of the gate, allowing Cortland to find the back of the net 10 times in the first quarter, while only scoring once itselves.
“I just tried to tell them the positive things that they did, just keep them up and keep them excited about playing,” Wall said.
After a devastating first quarter, the Cardinals cooled down the Red Dragons’ offensive barrage, allowing three goals in the second quarter, four in the third, and one in the fourth.
Barnosky led the Cardinals, ticketing herself two goals, one coming in the first quarter and the other following in the third.
“The score is what it is, but if you give up now, there’s no point going on the field,” Barnosky said.
After a crushing loss to Cortland, Plattsburgh shifted its focus to its Senior Day against Fredonia.
“The seniors mean everything to this team,” Wall said.
Fredonia came into this game with an overall record of 4-5 and a conference record of 0-2. One of its conference games was a 3-20 defeat by the Cortland Red Dragons.
“Getting the win showed that we could do it if we stay together and work together,” Barnosky said.
Once again, the Cardinals planned on focusing on itselves and its actions during the game and the game it wanted to play. Once the team got itself in order, the rest would follow.
The Blue Devils came out burning hot in the first quarter, scoring three unanswered goals within the first five minutes of play. The Cardinals fought back, firing two goals less than a minute apart, making the score 2-3.
The first quarter ended with both teams notching another tally on the scoreboard at the end of the quarter, giving Fredonia a 4-3 lead going into the second.
Plattsburgh came out of the break motivated to take the lead, finding the back of the net four times. The team also held Fredonia to a scoreless outing, giving the Cardinals a 7-4 advantage going into the half.
“We wanted to win for the seniors,” first-year defender Sloane Carr said. “Three of (the seniors) being on the defensive end gives me great people to look up to.”
The third quarter contained back-and-forth action between the two sides. With a repeat of the goal tally from the first quarter, the score was now 8-10 going into the final quarter of play.
Both teams battled hard going into the final 15 minutes of the game. The play on the field intensified, and neither team wanted to walk away without its first conference win of the year.
Fredonia started the quarter by scoring a goal within two minutes of the first face off. The Blue Devils notched another goal,making the score 10-10. Plattsburgh prayed and fought off the Blue Devils, tallying the final goal of the contest and an 11-10 Senior Day victory.
For the Cardinals, Barnosky and junior attacker Maddy Garcia each scored a hat trick. Junior midfielder Rachel LaMar and sophomore attacker Erica Dickinson both scored two goals, and junior midfielder Caitlin Nash rounded out the scoring with one goal.
“We’re just focusing on one play and one game at a time,” Barnosky said.
The Cardinals’ next game will be in Geneseo where it will face off against the Knights Saturday, April 6.
