Lacrosse wins first game in program history
Central Michigan beats Gardner-Webb 16-4
In its second game, the Central Michigan lacrosse team earned its first win in program history.
The Chippewas defeated the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs 16-4 Saturday in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
Head Coach Sara Tisdale was pleased with her team’s ability to execute plays after the long road trip.
“I think our team came out ready to play,” she said. “Even though we probably should be a little tired, nobody played that way. We wanted to set the tone and show everybody what Chippewa lacrosse is about and I think we were able to accomplish that.”
Freshman midfielder Sydney Wright led the Chippewas with four goals, scoring twice in the first half. She was one of four CMU players with a hat trick.
“It was just about opportunity,” Wright said. “Anyone on our team could have done the same thing. We had a lot of really good assists and we definitely played like a team with our ball movement.”
Gardner-Webb was 1-16 in 2015, finishing 106th out of 107 teams in the NCAA Women's Lacrosse RPI rankings. The Bulldogs (0-4) lost to Virginia Commonwealth — another team in its first season — 21-9 earlier in the season. VCU comes to Mount Pleasant to face the Chippewas on March 13.
Freshman goalkeeper Dominique Hamman made seven saves on 11 shots. CMU's 16 goals came on 22 shots.
The game started with CMU freshman midfielder Anna Schoonove winning the draw and freshman midfielder Summer Adballa scored the first goal within the first five minutes.
Freshman midfielder Auguste Jepsen added a goal shortly after, at 22:05. Abdalla contributed three goals total, along with midfielder Jocelyne Lemay and attacker Kaitlin Kimble.
Lemay said the team was much more comfortable Saturday than against Michigan in the first game of the year.
“(In) our first period, we executed all of our plays and really looked for open cutters," Lemay said. "We were more controlled than in our first game, where I think we were a little more frantic. Here, we played together better as a team.”
GWU’s Emma Rufolo scored the first goal for her team with 19 minutes left in the half. Amanda Steinmuller added another for the Bulldogs at 12:42. The Chippewas led 12-2 at halftime.
Tisdale also praised the effort from her defenders. Freshman defender Samantha Cannon picked up three ground balls within the first eight minutes of the game.
GWU scored to start off the second half, but CMU responded with three consecutive goals.
“I think we saw some improvements and a really composed team that didn’t act like it was only their second game ever.” Tisdale said. “(Playing) against a team like Michigan really set the bar high for us and we were able to play with the same level of intensity and passion that controlled the pace of the game.”
Abdalla echoed her coach’s thoughts. She said the team played just as well at Michigan and felt better prepared to play against GWU.
The Chippewas dropped their first game in program history to Michigan 14-1 on Feb. 7. The team's next game is March 6 at Cincinnati. The Bearcats were 2-15 in 2015 and finished 90th in the RPI rankings.
After Cincinnati, the Chippewas host their first home game in team history at 3 p.m. on March 11 against Delaware State — one of seven home contests for CMU in 2016. Delaware State finished 107th out of 107 teams in the 2015 RPI rankings.
The Atlantic Sun Conference season begins March 30 when the Chippewas travel to play Detroit.
“Each game we progress through gives us more experience,” Abdalla said. “We’re really getting the feel of playing other Division I programs. I think we’re really building up our program with each game and it makes us more prepared for the next one.”
