The Monmouth University men’s lacrosse team kicked off this week’s action with its best defensive effort of the season against the Virginia Military Institute at Kessler Stadium on Tuesday. The home team Hawks capitalized on two separate four-goal runs on offense, one in each half of the contest, on their way to an 11-6 rout of VMI and their second straight victory.
Noah Lode and the MU defense gave VMI all they could handle, holding the Keydets to a season-best six goals in another of their recent impressive defensive showcases. The Hawks’ offense was clicking on all cylinders behind hat tricks by Connor Macrae and Max Brooks. This marks the fourth consecutive game with a hat trick for Macrae, who scored all three of his goals in the first half.
Hawks Head Coach Brian Fisher was pleased with his team’s efficiency. “It felt good to pick up another win this afternoon at home against a well-coached and tough VMI team. Now we have a few days to focus on ourselves before taking the weekend off and begin preparing for our first conference game,” Fisher said.
MU went into halftime with a 5-2 lead, due in part to Macrae’s first-half fireworks, before Brooks took over to fuel the offensive effort in the second half, scoring his third goal with 6:32 remaining. This extended Monmouth’s lead to an insurmountable 10-4.
Monday night saw the Monmouth University women’s lacrosse team rally from behind in the second half of a defensively dominant contest against Harvard in Jacksonville, Florida. The late game dominance found the Hawks on the plus side of a 12-10 final score.
After going into the halftime break trailing 8-7, the Hawks (5-2, 0-0 MAAC) evened things up at eight in the third quarter with a goal from Mya Brock assisted by Caroline Brennan. After battling from behind through much of the first half, Monmouth would eventually find themselves pulling ahead courtesy of a 4-0 run in the fourth quarter. The unwavering defense of the Hawks would go on to shut Harvard (3-2, 1-0 Ivy) out for a 25-minute span, allowing their offense to pile onto the late lead.
With MU’s lights-out second half defense, the Crimsons were only able to score two goals in the second half, securing both of them in the final 4:33 of regulation. While Harvard fought back, the effort was too little too late, and the Crimsons would eventually fall short to Monmouth 12-10.
The remarkable defensive display in the second half was headed by a season-high eight saves in just 30 minutes by Monmouth’s sophomore goalkeeper Madi Bednarik. On the offensive side, Brennan would record a game-high five points on four goals and one assist for the Hawks, aided by a pair of scores from Brock, Mary Kate George, and Hope Steuerwald.
The Monmouth University women’s lacrosse team came up short, 17-12, against Stetson in their second contest in the Sunshine State on Wednesday.
After the opening quarter, Stetson (3-4) led by one before jumping out on top of the Hawks in the following period, outscoring MU 6-1 on their way to building an 11-5 halftime lead over the Hawks. While the Hawks (5-3) would rally from behind after the halftime break, their comeback efforts would fall short as the home team Hatters secured the victory.
MU’s Cassidy Orban, who earned MAAC Defensive Player of the Week, secured a hat trick in the loss, as well as recording career-highs in draw controls (9) and forced turnovers (3). Caroline Brennan would record a hat trick of her own, piercing her three goals with one assist on a four-point performance in Monmouth’s efforts.
The Hawks offensive determination saw Hope Steuerwald and Liv Fanelli scoring multiple goals each, and Carli Magnum was responsible for three points on the day as well, scoring one and assisting two.
Looking ahead, the womens team will face Niagara in an away game this Saturday at 1 p.m.
