By, Angelina Persaud, Assistant News Editor
Manhattan College’s Women’s lacrosse team held a major success following their match against Delaware State, as the team picked up a total of eight goals across the second and third quarters, beating Delaware 15-8.
The preparation that went into the season was unparalleled and the athletes had to adapt their methods in order to gain maximum results. Specifically, they emphasized a unified front when running drills on the field and during practice.
The Jaspers managed to hold an impressive and steady record thus far in the season with senior Grace Lipponer being named MAAC offensive player of the week.
Grace Lipponer plays in the attacking position on the team and managed to score five of the eight goals during the game. Lipponer has earned seven MAAC weekly awards during her time at Manhattan and had a goals per game average of 2.67 last season. In the 2021 season Lipponer scored 32 goals for the Jaspers, ranking her seventh in the MAAC for scoring.
Lipponer explained the overall encouragement and uplifting attitude from the team helped her hone in on her skills and boost her performance this week.
“The team attitude was a little different. I would say definitely more positive this year, it’s very encouraging,” Lipponer said. “We say like, a big thing is like lifting each other up.”
Meghan Rodino, team captain and senior attack player, also commented on the recent winning streak for the team and how it contributed to their overall performance this season.
“I feel like a big change that we all have grown and developed as players. We’ve all been through a losing streak before we know how it feels. So going into this season like we were all ready to just show them what we can do,” Rodino said.
Rodino racked up two goals and two assists during the game against Delaware State and provided continuous offensive support.
Caroline D’Agostino, a junior midfield player, also emphasized the importance of leadership to the team and how it made a significant impact on the players and the overall energy of the game.
“They really stepped it up this year and really have been great leaders on and off the field. I think that just sets such a good example for all the underclassmen, and I think they’ve really set the bar high for the seasons to come, especially this season,” D’Agostino said.
The team also highlighted the amount of preparation that went into this season particularly, and how they formed a goal to perform to their highest potential.
“What gave us that confidence was how strong we were in the fall and we were just gaining momentum off of that. We came in even hungrier and we wanted to win this coming into the spring season,” D’Agostino said.
The team also acknowledged their success against Wagner as a confidence booster, proving to themselves that the “underdog” had the chance to make a comeback this season.
“We haven’t beat Wagner in 11 years,” Rodino said. “So this was our first win in a really long time. And they’ve always been a huge competitor of ours. So I think the most thrilling part of the season was winning that really big game, because we were kind of the underdog in that sense.”
However, this season also came with its challenges, including playing against highly ranked teams like University of Connecticut. During their last match with UConn, the Jaspers lost 16-6.
Despite the challenges, the Jaspers managed to push through and continually improve their performance for the remainder of the season.
“Going into the [UConn] game, we knew it was gonna be a tough fight. And I think that it taught us a lot about things that we could obviously improve on, but then also that we can match up and play at that level as well,” Rodino said.
The team hopes that this season inspires other lacrosse players to continuously push their limits despite the setbacks and find their own confidence as key players.
“I feel like we have been trying to prove ourselves a lot throughout the years and I think that this year is definitely a time where we’re seeing that success really coming together. Hopefully other girls who are playing lacrosse at the high school level will want to emulate us,” Rodino said.