Despite the lingering chill in the air and the snow surrounding their home turf, the women’s lacrosse team was on fire during their first home game of the spring season, beating Wagner on Feb. 10. After getting off to a slower start last spring, the win signifies an important turn around for the team this year. With new talent from Gretchen Richter ’18 and Mary Margaret Kenney ’18, along with some important veteran leadership from Emily Kookogey ’15 and Maddy Molinari ’17, the Bison pulled ahead to win the match-up 9-7.

The offensive effort from the Orange and Blue started early, with the first two goals of the game coming from Richter in under 7 minutes. The first goal was assisted by fellow first-year Kenney, who tallied 5 ground balls to lead the count for the Bison on the day.

“I definitely will never forget the first goal we scored so early on in the game. It was amazing to finally be testing our attack against another team and see how well everyone on the team was meshing, from clearing it out of our defensive end and putting it in the back of the net. It also gave us great momentum and confidence for the rest of the game!” Kenney said.

The Bison were up 6-3 at the half, after a goal from Molinari and two goals from Kookagey. Assisted by Sam Rickels ’16, Molinari’s goal put the Bison up 3-0. Wagner sparked their offense to score two goals in an attempt to rally back, but the Orange and Blue were able to hold them off there, once Kookagey responded with two more goals to end the first half of the game.

Continuing the momentum, Kookagey came out after the break to score two more goals off 8-meter shots, bringing the lead up to 8-3 for the Bison. The last 17 minutes of the game proved to be a bit more difficult for the Orange and Blue, and Wagner was able to up the score to 8-5. Richter scored her last goal of the game to bring the Bison up to 9 scores, which earned the Bison a 9-7 win for the day.

The defensive effort for the game was led by Katherine Doyle ’18, Rennie Tankersley ’16, Lucia Smircich ’17, and Annie Gilbertson ’17. Goalie Elizabeth Duswalt ’17 finished the game with six saves.

Looking ahead, the Bison look to continue their success as their season progresses.

“I am really excited to keep working hard and hopefully keep winning games. Being a leading team in the Patriot League is a goal we have had in mind, and have been working towards for the past six months, so I am really looking forward to trying to help make that happen!” Kenney said.

The Orange and Blue will face Manhattan next on Feb. 14 at home.