Despite being out of contention for the Atlantic 10 Tournament, the University of Rhode Island women’s lacrosse team dominated George Mason University on the road, 13-5.
The Rams came out strong with five goals in the first quarter. These goals were spread out evenly amongst five different Rams.
First-year midfielder Celie Shield opened the scoring, putting a shot between the pipes in the first 16 seconds of the game. Second-year Patriots midfielder Matye Riley was able to respond quickly with a goal of her own.
The teams would trade goals once more in the first quarter, with goals coming from Rams’ third-year attacker, Danielle McHugh, and Patriots second-year midfielder Giselle Torain.
The final six minutes of the first quarter were when Rhode Island began its dominance for the game. The Rams were able to tally three straight goals from third-year attacker Kate Cumins, second-year attacker Nicolette Licare and sixth-year attacker Caitlin Dellecave.
George Mason was able to respond late in the quarter with a goal in the final two minutes from fourth-year midfielder Kate Anders, leaving the Rams with a 5-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.
“We really focus on ourselves and our fundamentals,” URI head coach Jenna Slowey said. “We have tried to limit turnovers and get as many shots off as we can.”
Rhode Island continued to add fuel to the fire throughout the second quarter. The Rams were able to tally five goals while shutting out the Patriots on defense.
Second-quarter goals were led by two scores from third-year attacker Caralie Basuel. Cumins, Licare and Shield all tallied another goal in the quarter as the Rams went into the half leading 10-3.
“I think the girls have done a really good job of stepping up and having some other people put the ball in the back of the net,” Slowey said. “The defense has done a solid job all year, just trying to play as a unit. That’s really what we focused on all week prior to Mason.”
Both offenses eased up in the second half. In the third quarter, the Rams were shut out, and the Patriots were able to get a goal from Anders.
The Rams were able to rally three goals in the fourth quarter. Goals came from Shield, Cumins and first-year attacker Emerson Goettelmann putting in the final goal of the game. A last-minute goal by Anders wasn’t enough for the Patriots as the Rams finished off the eight-goal win.
“We are really focused on getting a little better each day, competing at a high level and obviously enjoying each other and enjoying each other’s company,” Slowey said. “Competitiveness and all of that stuff will set us up for success in the future.”
The Rams will play their regular-season finale this Saturday at home when they take on Saint Joseph’s University, celebrating senior day for its nine graduating players. The game will stream on ESPN+ at 1 p.m.
