Heading into its last month of the regular season, the University of Rhode Island women’s lacrosse team split its games, as the Rams fell to Saint Joseph’s University on Friday before taking down La Salle University on Wednesday to stay in the conversation for the postseason.
Hosting the Hawks on Friday morning earlier than scheduled due to weather, the Rams were unable to stay competitive against the third-place team in the Atlantic 10 Conference, falling 16-9.
URI got out to a 1-0 lead in the opening minute of play on a goal from second-year attacker Caralie Basuel. That would be the only Rams lead of the day, as the Hawks responded with three straight goals in the next three minutes.
Basuel added a second goal at 9:55 to cut the deficit to one, but the Hawks once again came back with three goals to go up 6-2.
Second-year midfielder Brinley Myers added a pair of goals in the quarter’s final five minutes, capping off what would ultimately be Rhody’s highest-scoring period.
“I think every day we continue to learn what we’re all doing because it’s our first year playing together and we’re all really young, but in this game, we were trying new things and fell short,” Myers said.
The Hawks added a final goal in the opening period to take a 7-4 lead into the second quarter, outshooting the Rams 15-6.
“The defense got a reality check and got a little yelled at by the coaches in the first quarter, but they really pulled it together and stepped it up,” Myers said.
Myers opened the second quarter with an unassisted goal at 14:02, followed by first-year midfielder MJ Timpanaro scoring at 11:59.
From 10:08 onward in the second quarter, the Hawks scored four consecutive goals to take an 11-6 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Hawks outscored the Rams 5-3, as SJU’s first-year midfielder Emma Yoder and third-year attacker Kate Fuhrman capped off the day with four goals each.
URI fourth-year goalkeeper Casey Phelps made 18 saves on 34 shots on goal by the Hawks.
The Rams’ leading scorer on the game and the season, Myers, added a goal in the fourth quarter, giving her a four-goal game.
“I think we take each game day-by-day with our motto of just winning the day,” Myers said. “That goes with each practice, each game and each moment. You just want to win that play and go 100%, and we think those add up to being better.”
The Rams stayed at home to face off against La Salle on Wednesday afternoon, earning their second win in conference play against the Explorers, who are winless against conference opponents.
Timpanaro and Basuel opened the game’s scoring before the Explorers responded with three consecutive goals. At 9:42 left in the first period, URI put together a five-goal stretch in which Myers scored four goals.
Ultimately, the Rams came out of the first quarter with a 9-5 lead, which would once again be the highest-scoring period of the afternoon.
In the second and third quarters, URI outscored the Explorers 8-2, with Myers adding three goals to her tally, totaling a season-high seven goals in the game.
La Salle had a five-goal fourth quarter, but could not complete the comeback. Phelps earned the win after relieving second-year goalkeeper Kayse Kiernan in the second quarter, making four saves.
“[Phelps] is a really key player for us on defense,” Myers said. “Being a first-year program and [in] our first year in the conference, we’re not expecting to win even though we know we can. I feel like we should build [on] those moments with a positive attitude and eliminate some of our mistakes, and they’ll help us in conference play going forward.”
The Rams will travel to Fairfax, Virginia to face off against George Mason University on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.
