The women’s lacrosse team beat Army in an away match on March 25. Callie DeWitt ’19 said that the motto for this game was “Hard work beats talent, when talent does not work hard.” That spoke volumes to the team effort from the start. The Bison took an early lead and never looked back, finishing with an 11-8 win. Their season record improved to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the Patriot League.

The Orange and Blue started the game strong, jumping out to a 3-0 lead within the first six minutes. Sarah Galzerano ’18, Maddy Molinari ’17, and Courtney Burke ’17 scored the three opening goals. Molinari led the effort with four goals, while Christina Manis ’17 had a team-high four assists. Molinari is now only one goal shy of hitting the prestigious 100-goal mark in her career, and Manis extended the school record for most assists that she already held. Audrey Walsh ’19 also had a dominant offensive performance, tallying two goals and three assists.

Army came within one goal of the Bison on two separate occasions, but were never able to tie the score or take the lead. By the final whistle, the Bison led in the shot count at 25-23, as well as dominating draw controls at 14-6.

“Army was definitely a tough team, and they are known to always work hard. We moved the ball well and found the open girls and that was really what it came down to,” Manis said. “Our patience with passing and shooting helped us finish with the win as well.”

On the defensive end, Erika Stube ’18 led the team with three caused turnovers. Goalie Jamie DeWitt ’19 racked in seven saves. Manis also credited her team’s strong defensive effort for sparking the offense, who were able to capitalize on the attacking end.

The win was the 48th for head coach Randall Swope, making her the coach with the most wins in program history. Patriot League play continues for the women’s team on April 1, when they will travel to Holy Cross.

The men’s team faced off against ranked opponent, Loyola (Md.), and the Bison pulled out a 9-8 win in a double-overtime thriller on March 25 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. It was the second week in a row that the Orange and Blue knocked off a nationally ranked team.

Attackman Will Sands ’18 netted the game-winner. Sands concluded the day with an impressive total of two goals and five assists. Bison goalie Christian Klipstein ’19 finished the contest with 15 saves. Klipstein’s tireless efforts were highlighted by his hustle to get a loose ball with a minute and half left in regulation to start an offensive attack.

The Orange and Blue were down by three goals going into the second half, but a surge at the start of the third quarter cut the deficit down to one. Despite falling to Loyola in shot count as well as in ground balls, goaltending ultimately gave the Bison the edge, with 15 saves compared to Loyola’s eight.

The last goal was all about grit. After Loyola forced a turnover by knocking down a Bison pass, Connor O’Hara ’18 swarmed Loyola to win the ball back. Quinn Collison ’17 then picked up the loose ball to hustle downfield and sent a pass to Sands, who was on the edge of the crease. Sands faked a shot, then drilled the ball low past the Loyola goalkeeper. The celebration kicked off from there.

Sands’ performance continues a monumental offensive season for him, as he jumped into seventh place on the all-time program points list and has either scored or assisted on 47 of the team’s 89 goals this season.

The men’s team will return to action against No. 8 Army at home on April 1 for Senior Day.