The University of Rhode Island women’s lacrosse team fell 14-9 to Saint Joseph’s University in the team’s final game of the season on Saturday.
The Rams honored eight graduating players in a pre-game ceremony: fourth-year Emma Hughes, fourth-year Marissa Hermans, fifth-year Kyndall Jackson, sixth-year captain Caitlin Dellecave, third-year Zoe Lockwood, fifth-year Casey Phelps, fourth-year Makayla Au and third-year Madison Iler.
“When you think of what a leader is, it’s them to a T,” second-year Kate Cumins said. “Coming here, starting a new program, it’s such a hard thing to do, and they have done more than imaginable.”
Rhody hoped not only to send off their graduating players with a win but also to secure their first home victory at the URI Soccer Complex this season.
St. Joe’s third-year Megan Sanelli opened up the scoring less than three minutes in. Third-year Calli Dunn tied it up two minutes later after Sanelli received a green card, putting the Rams a player up.
The tie would only last for 30 seconds, as fourth-year Ellie Webb scored unassisted to give the Hawks the lead once again. Cumins scored the equalizer with her eighth goal in three games.
It was all St. Joe’s for the final seven minutes of the first quarter. Fourth-year Kate Kaptrosky put the Hawks ahead less than a minute after Cumins’ goal. Third-year Olivia McCloskey capitalized on URI turnovers to score two straight goals and give St. Joe’s a 5-2 lead to end the first quarter.
The momentum from the end of the first quarter carried over as second-year Emma Yoder gave the Hawks their fourth-straight goal just 18 seconds in.
The Rams wouldn’t go down easily, as Cumins scored three straight goals in three minutes to bring them within one goal. Cumins’ second goal of the run came as the Rams were playing down a player; her third of the run, and fourth of the game, came on a free position shot.
“I’m so proud of her, and she should be so proud of herself, battling through a ton of injuries this year to be able to be out on the field,” head coach Jenna Slowey said. “Especially in the last couple of games, and in our conference games, she really turned the corner for us. As only a sophomore, I’m really excited to see what she does for us next year.”
URI was able to tie the game up once again after Dellecave scooped up a missed shot from first-year Ashlyn Carpenter and came around from behind the net for the wrap-around goal.
The teams traded goals to end the first half, as the Hawks broke the tie and their 11-minute scoring drought with Sanelli’s second goal. Carpenter responded after barely missing on her first two shots. Second-year Riley Bittinger gave St. Joe’s the 8-7 lead going into halftime on a goal with less than a minute remaining in the half.
The third quarter was a low-scoring affair as both teams scored just one goal each. Dunn tied the game, with the Rams having a player advantage following a yellow card shown to fourth-year Riley Miller. Rhody continued to be unable to capitalize on its comeback attempt when Bittinger scored and gave St. Joe’s a 9-8 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Dellecave took advantage of a defensive miscue from St. Joe’s to get the Rams level with the Hawks once more. Just 40 seconds into the fourth quarter, that would be the last goal of Dellecave’s career and the last goal of the season.
St. Joe’s scored five unanswered goals in the final 10 minutes to secure the 14-9 victory. Bittinger, Kaptrosky and fourth-year Alexa Capozzoli all scored in less than 90 seconds for a three-goal lead. McCloskey put more salt in the wound with back-to-back goals in the final five minutes for the largest lead of the game.
The team feels that it needs to work a bit more on the fundamentals and improve each day, according to Slowey. With the Rams’ season over, Slowey and the rest of the team look ahead to next season, as they will have a consistent home field at the URI Soccer Complex and continue their push for the program’s first-ever Atlantic 10 Tournament appearance.
“We started with such a great year one and didn’t lose a lot of talent, so I think we got ahead of ourselves in terms of what we thought this year could look like,” Slowey said. “We obviously have big picture goals, but if those are looming a little bit too heavy over our heads, I think we get distracted.”
URI’s record fell by two wins compared to last year, managing only one home win compared to four last season. The Rams fell one game short of the postseason in their first season.
