The University of Rhode Island’s women’s lacrosse team rallied from a five-goal deficit against Duquesne University 17-16 on Saturday, setting up a win-or-go-home game against Virginia Commonwealth University in its regular season finale.
“I think the nerves were a little bit higher in these [past three] games to keep us in this [playoff] spot,” URI Head Coach Jenna Slowey said. “We have nothing to lose. There’s really no pressure on us… We’ve already done so much to build a name for ourselves and prove that we deserve to be here.”
The Dukes opened up the scoring with two goals by fourth-year Mackenzie Leszczynski in the first three minutes of play. Second-year Sydney McDonald got the Rams on the board with her fifth goal of the year less than five minutes into the opening quarter. The Dukes then outscored Rhody 7-3 for the remaining 10 minutes to give them an 8-4 advantage after the first quarter.
Fourth-year Corinne Webb extended Duquesne’s lead to five, the Rams’ largest deficit of the game, when she scored 54 seconds into the second quarter. Second-years Caralie Basuel and Brinley Myers combined for three goals in just over two minutes to cut the lead to two. After the teams traded goals midway through the quarter, Leszczynski scored a hat trick in the final five minutes of the half, including two in the final minute, to give the Dukes a five-goal lead at the end of the first half.
Basuel scored the first goal of the third quarter, but fourth-year Haley Reeck answered to keep Duquesne’s lead at five. The Rams then scored five unanswered goals over the final 8:49 of the quarter to tie the game at 14. The five goals came from four different players for the Rams; Basuel had two, while Myers, second-year Cali Dunn and fifth-year Caitlin Dellecave each had one.
With the pressure on both teams, the defenses of both teams shined as there were just five combined goals in the fourth quarter, which was the lowest total for a quarter in this game. Leszczynski gave the Dukes the lead, but Basuel quickly answered to give the Rams their first lead of the game with two goals less than a minute apart.
Basuel’s seven goals were her most in a game since the season opener against Merrimack College on Feb. 17. Myers was right behind her with six goals, as the top two goal scorers for the season combined for 13 of the Rams’ 17 goals.
“It’s really a testament to how much work [Basuel and Myers] did last year and how much they just bought into what we were trying to build and really trusted the process, and now they’re really reaping the benefits this year,” Slowey said. “They’re both great kids and great athletes, and we’re really lucky to have them.”
Fifth-year Tristen Chang scored the equalizer for Duquesne with 6:41 left in the game. Dellecave, with the assist from Myers, buried the go-ahead goal into the back of the net with 4:36 left to give Rhody the lead and eventual win.
“A big thing on this team is we really want to focus on one thing at a time,” Basuel said. “I really just engraved that into my mind as it’s not thinking too much about the next play, but what’s right in front of me at that moment. And I honestly think that’s what got us through that game and made us have that comeback.”
Rhody now heads back to Kingston after their two-game road trip to face VCU. The game, while being the decider in who gets the last spot in the Atlantic 10 Tournament, is also senior day, as the Rams will honor four graduating players.
“I’m happy we’re able to have [the regular season finale] at home where everything started,” Basuel said. “Especially with our parents [and] the fans, I think it’s just awesome.”
The regular season finale is on Saturday at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
