Women’s lacrosse falls to USM despite fourth-quarter comeback

By Izabela Gage Sports Editor By Taylor Kimmell Asst. Sports Editor

Izabela Gage / THE GATEPOST

After fighting to reach a tie and battling back from a 7-1 deficit early on in a non-conference match, the Framingham State University Rams fell to the University of Southern Maine Huskies 12-9. This matchup brings their overall record to 3-7 and leaves their conference record at 0-1. The Huskies were quick to gain an offensive edge, winning the opening draw control and scoring the first goal of the match 31 seconds in. USM maintained a steady offensive press, winning the following draw control and sending in another shot, this one going wide of the net. Just short of 2 minutes in, a turnover by the Huskies placed the ball in possession of FSU Captain Isabella DiMare, a senior. Both teams traded possession for the next 2 minutes before the Huskies took control, making a decisive drive to the net for their second goal. USM continued to build on its successful offensive streak, scoring again less than 2 minutes later. After a foul by FSU, the Huskies took advantage of their rally, scoring once again on the Rams’ net, bringing the score to 4-0. Assisted by freshman Kate McGovern, freshman Jenna James sent a hard shot to the back of the net, putting a point on the board for Framingham 10 minutes in. The Huskies refused to yield, capitalizing on a failed clear attempt by the Rams and scoring once again. USM scored twice more before the end of the quarter, gaining a significant early lead of 7-1. The Rams began their comeback early on in the second quarter, with a goal from sophomore Emma Kendzulak just 35 seconds in. Sophomore Maddie Bosma attempted another goal for Framingham in the following minute, but her shot was saved by USM goalkeeper Maggie Jones. Using the turnover to their advantage, the Huskies managed to find a gap to score again. A green card against senior Kelley DeBellis forced the Rams to play a man down, but good defensive plays kept USM from breaking through for another goal. The next goal came from DeBellis off an assist by McGovern on a man-up play to bring the score to 7-3, still in favor of USM. The first goal of the third quarter came from the Huskies on a free position shot a little over 3 minutes in. After another 5 minutes of strong defense by both teams, the Rams broke through, with sophomore Lily Malloy scoring off an assist by Kendzulak. DeBellis won the ensuing draw control for Framingham, but the Huskies capitalized on a ground ball pickup and netted their ninth goal. Shortly after, USM committed a foul against Kendzulak. She made the most of her free position shot, sending it flying past Jones and into the back of the net. FSU maintained control of the ball for the final minute of the third quarter, with Malloy winning the next draw control, leading to a shot by James that unfortunately bounced off the crossbar. Two consecutive goals in the first 3 minutes of the final quarter allowed the Rams to gain momentum. The first goal came from James, assisted by Bosma, and the second was scored by McGovern, also assisted by Bosma. Six minutes of strong defensive pushes ensued before a yellow card was issued against USM, allowing the Rams to take advantage for a man-up goal by Kendzulak on a free position shot to bring the score to 9-9 for the first tie of the match. A minute later, USM began a strong offensive drive, scoring three times during the final 5 minutes of the match, resulting in a score 12-9 in favor of the Huskies. Kendzulak scored four of FSU’s nine goals. In terms of finding scoring opportunities, she said, “I look for the cuts and I keep my head up. I look around for my teammates, and if they cut in and I see a great opportunity, and if there's no one near them, I pass it to them so they can find a gap. “Our biggest challenge is not getting a lot of the ground balls, and not getting the draws. We need to get possession in order to score, so that's one of our downfalls. We've been practicing catching during our rides, clearing and getting open,” she added. McGovern had a goal and two assists during the match. She said when anticipating scoring opportunities, the most important part is “relying on my teammates. … Scoring-wise, my teammates set me up with passing, feeding, everything like that. “We started kind of slow. Seven-to-one is kind of a hard way to come back, but I think with our momentum, we just kind of kept getting fired up after every goal, and just seeing the ball hit the back of the net, it gets everyone going,” she added. The Rams will host the Fitchburg State Falcons for a conference matchup April 4. McGovern said, “We're going into Fitchburg like every other game - keep improving on the stuff that we've been working on.” Kendzulak said, “We have the opportunity to win this game if we put our hearts into it.”