This past Saturday, the women’s lacrosse team traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia for their season opener against William & Mary where they earned a commanding 18-6 over the Tribe and had 33 shots on goal. Freshman midfielder Elena Torres led the way with five goals.

After giving up a goal in the first minute of play, the Wildcats instantly responded. The first goal of the season was scored by sophomore attacker Sydney Pappas in the second minute.

“Instead of getting down on ourselves, we decided to respond, and I think this was a huge momentum shift for us,” head coach Jill Batcheller said.  

The score remained 1-1 for the first 10 minutes until freshman midfielder Maddie Lauer made her Wildcat debut, scoring a goal with five minutes left in the corner. 

More debut goals followed when Torres scored twice to give the Wildcats a 4-2 lead to end the first quarter.  

“From the start of the game they go out there and play their way. They have been a really great impact on our team so far, they are great listeners, they work together well, and I was really excited for them,” Batcheller said about the freshmen’s early season contributions. 

Heading into the second quarter, the goals continued to pile up in the second quarter. Graduate student and team captain Caroline Curnal netted two goals early and another one just before halftime. 

In between the goals for Curnal, Pappas and Torres also added more goals to their scoring accounts. 

While William & Mary scored twice, the Wildcats led, 9-3, heading into halftime.  

“We made a few adjustments because [William & Mary] were pushing transition,” Batcheller said at halftime. 

“The adjustments we made were to try and slow [William and Mary] down and I think this team did a good job of being able to be coached and make adjustments within the game and this is a huge improvement from last season,” she added. 

Heading into the second half, the Wildcats continued to dominate on the offensive end, as Curnal, Papas and Torres all made second half contributions.

Sophomore attacker Sami Carey was also able to get onto scoresheet with a goal in the third quarter and junior attacker Jessica Lee scored her first goal of the season in the fourth quarter. 

Senior midfielder Catherine Field and freshman midfielder Ashlyn Hickey also added on a goal each at the end of the fourth quarter.  

While there were many players to be highlighted in the game, Torres, Curnal, and graduate student goalkeeper Olivia Conquest were the biggest talking points of the afternoon. 

Curnal had one of the best games of her career and now holds the all-time draw control record at 240. Torres finished the game with five goals and two assists, and Conquest made 10 saves.  

One notable name that did not appear on the scoresheet was senior midfielder Addie Fischer. Despite not scoring a goal, Fischer’s contributions were still felt by her coach and teammates. 

“[Fischer] does a lot of things that aren’t necessarily on the score sheet,” Batcheller said. “She is like an unsung hero on our team. She does a lot of the hustle plays; she is awesome on defense and is often the person running the ball down in transition. She’s a huge impact on the team even if it doesn’t show on the team sheet.”  

In the week ahead Batcheller believes there are still things her team can do to improve so they are ready for the rest of the season 

“One of the things we will be focusing on this week is our transition game,” Batcheller said. “I think defensively we need to be able to slow other teams down and offensively we can push the tempo of the ball a little better at the start of the game.” 

With the first win of the season under their belts, Batcheller noted how she “feel[s] good about the trajectory of [the] team.” 

Looking forward to their next match, the Wildcats will take on Saint Joseph’s, where Batcheller’s coaching career first began back in 2008. 

“Last year we had a close game against them,” she said. “[I] think this year’s team is ready and eager to rewrite the ending of last season’s game.”