Lacrosse enters busy portion of schedule

By: Tyler Diedrich

Posted: 3/19/10

After playing its first five games in a 24-day period, the lacrosse team is set to play its next five games over 10 days, starting today at Connecticut.

The Bonnies (1-4) are in Storrs, Conn. today for a 3 p.m. matchup with the Huskies (7-1), who have won seven games in a row.

Coach Christy Malone said Connecticut will be an important test for the struggling Bonnies.

"UConn is not going to be an easy game by any means, but it's going to be a good challenge for us," Malone said.

The Bonnies return home for a 1 p.m. Sunday tilt with Siena in the team's home opener. The Bonnies have beaten the Saints (4-2) in each of their five meetings.

Tuesday, the Bonnies will be back on McGraw-Jennings Field for a 4 p.m. matchup with Bucknell, who won last year's meeting, 21-16. The Bison are 1-7 heading in to tomorrow's game against American.

Malone said diving into a busy schedule may be stressful for the team, but she thinks they will be able to handle it.

"For two weeks we'll probably be a little bit rushed, but after (next weekend) it will kind of spread out a little bit more," Malone said. "It's all about balance and having good time-management skills. They're good in the classroom, and they're going to be able to manage."

Senior defender Ashley Fischer said playing games so close together will help the team maintain the adrenaline rush game day brings.

"Having a few games in a row, that adrenaline is going to stay," Fischer said. "It's not going to go down (like) when we have four practice days in a row and people are bored. Games are so much more fun than practice, so it might be helpful for us to (play) these games and be pumped up for the next two weeks."

Last weekend, the Bonnies earned their first win of the season, when they defeated Robert Morris, 15-8, Friday in Pittsburgh. The game was moved from Olean to Erie, Pa., before moving to Robert Morris just two days prior.

After jumping out to a 5-1 lead, the Colonials rallied to within one goal, but the Bonnies finished the game on a 10-4 run.

Junior Christine Hanley led the Bonnies with four goals, senior Molly Hastrich had three, sophomores Danielle Drabin, Samantha Cavallaro and Daisy Timlin each scored two, and sophomore Kristi Tamasitis and freshman Marybeth Madia both added their first goals of the season.

Senior goalkeeper Tori Waheibi played all 60 minutes and recorded 12 saves.

Malone said the team stayed prepared mentally despite the stress and distraction of the game's site change.

"I thought it was good that we responded like that because we had to shuffle around the game," Malone said. "They played great defense and (placed) their shots real well. Obviously what could have been a little bit better was a more convincing win, but that was a good win for this year."

Fischer said the Bonnies played as a team against Robert Morris, something they struggled with in the first three games.

"We had offense and defense both on the same page," Fischer said.

"Everybody helped each other out; if somebody dropped a ball, it was everybody's heart and hustle that was coming in and picking the ball back up."

Back on the road Tuesday, the Bonnies fell to Canisius for only the second time in nine meetings, losing 11-8 in Buffalo.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than one and Canisius taking a 5-4 halftime lead.

The Griffins scored the first two goals of the second half before the Bonnies cut the lead to 7-6. After Canisius built a 10-6 lead, the Bonnies rallied to 10-8 with 9:39 remaining. But the Griffins kept the Bonnies from finding the net again, added an insurance goal with 3:34 remaining and held on to improve their record to 4-3.

Malone said it was a tough loss, and despite a solid defensive effort, the Bonnies' 29 turnovers proved costly.

"We were in it, (but) we just weren't having good selection of shots," Malone said. "(We're) so used to beating them … it's just really disappointing. But we can't have 29 turnovers in a game and expect to win."

Fischer said the team reverted to its form of the first three games of not playing as a group.

"There were struggles on both ends of the field and people just weren't accountable for their actions," she said.

Malone said she agreed that players need to be more accountable for their mistakes and offered advice to her team.

"Understand what you've done (wrong), and just try not to do it again," she said. "Ultimately, it's a very simple game, and it's just a matter of us playing good lacrosse (with both good) defense and attack in the same game."

Fischer said the team's record isn't indicative of its ability, and playing with greater confidence will help the record improve.

"We have people all over the field that are really, really talented," Fischer said. "In practice, everyone's really confident, playing against the same people every day, but when they get in to a game … (they) know that if (they) make a mistake it's going to a big deal, where in practice, it doesn't really matter.

"I think people just need to know they are good; they are here for a reason, and if they make a mistake in a game, next time the ball is on their end or the ball is near them, they just need to make up for it."

Malone said in order to play to its potential, the team needs to focus on one game at a time and not panic.

"When everybody … really thinks about what they're doing and what their role is out there, we're an unbelievable team," Malone said. "It's a matter of us really believing in that."

e-mail: diedrits@sbu.edu