The Monmouth University women’s lacrosse team concluded their non-conference play with back-to-back losses to Johns Hopkins and Georgetown, respectively, before finally earning a much-needed victory over George Washington in the Hawks’ final matchup before CAA play.
Following a difficult 20-6 loss to Johns Hopkins, Monmouth bounced back in their matchup against Georgetown a few days later but still came up short, 16-18. Despite the disappointing final score, it wasn’t all negative for the Hawks. Senior defender Shannon Feeley matched her career-high with seven ground balls against the Blue Jays and freshman attacker Shea Berigan notched a goal to extend her scoring streak to five games.
Against the Hoyas, junior attacker Mya Brock set a new career-high with her five goal performance to reach 17 goals on the season and 40 over the course of her career. Berigan had a goal and an assist to extend her scoring streak to six games while grad student midfielder Cassidy Orban added a goal and assist of her own to bring her scoring streak to seven games.
Caroline Brennan has been another force to be reckoned with for the Hawks. The sophomore attacker found the back of the net twice against both Johns Hopkins and Georgetown, bringing her scoring streak to 25 games and her point streak to 27 games.
Brennan was also a key player for Monmouth in their matchup against George Washington, where the Hawks finally came out victorious after a two game lull. Her eight points on five goals and three assists were a season-high, bringing her career total to 35 on the season and 101 for her career while extending her goal streak to 26 games and her point streak to 28 games. Berigan and Orban also posted hat tricks for Monmouth, marking their seventh and eighth straight games with a goal, respectively, to secure the 15-12 win.
The Hawks ended non-conference play on a high note with the win over George Washington to snap a two game losing streak. They opened CAA play a few days later with a home matchup against Elon on Saturday, March 18.
The first period didn’t look promising for Monmouth as Elon came out strong, scoring the first four goals of the game and posting five in the first period alone to the Hawks’ one from Orban. The Hawks woke up in the second period as McNeely and Brennan found the back of the net to make the score 6-3 with just over nine minutes until half. The Phoenix extended their lead to 8-3 with a mere two minutes left in the second period, but Monmouth didn’t let the clock stop them as they notched three goals, two from Brennan and one from junior midfielder Liv Fanelli, to close out the first half and cut their deficit to two goals, 8-6.
The Hawks learned from their slow start in the first half and didn’t make the same mistake in the second. Back-to-back goals from McNeely, Brock, and Orban pushed Monmouth ahead of Elon for the first time in the matchup, although the Phoenix were quick to respond with a goal of their own to tie the game 9-9 going into the fourth period.
There were three lead changes in the last 15 minutes of the game, a testament to the back-and-forth scoring between the two teams in search of their first CAA win of the season. Elon pulled ahead first, but Orban found the back of the net to make the score an even 10-10 with just over six minutes left to play.
The Phoenix notched another goal to take back the lead, but McNeely was quick to respond for the Hawks and make it a tied game once again. Orban scored the final goal of the matchup and her fourth of the game to push Monmouth ahead 12-11 and earn the team’s first ever CAA win.
Orban has now scored a goal in nine consecutive games and has posted a hat trick in back-to-back games, her third of the season. Brennan also earned a hat trick, her second consecutive and fourth of the season. The sophomore’s three goals against Elon extended her scoring streak to 27 games and her point streak to 29 games.
“It feels amazing to start CAA play with a win. It was 60 minutes of a full team effort that showcased the hard work and energy these 30 players put in each and every day. I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” said head coach Jordan Trautman.
Up next, the Hawks will face off against the University of Delaware in their first away CAA matchup on Saturday, March 25.
