Midfielder Ashley Bonitch makes a catch in the home game against La Salle.
GOJASPERS/COURTESY
By Jocelyn Visnov, Senior Writer
After a 0-2 start to the season, Jaspers women’s lacrosse is persevering. The Jaspers put up fights in their last two home games, resulting in two straight wins in double overtime.
Following a tough loss to Temple University, the team faced off against the Long Island University Sharks on Feb. 21 on their home turf in Gaelic Park. The game began with a goal by Reagan Mullins in the first quarter, followed by a score from Colleen Rattigan in the second.
“I thought the team chemistry was great throughout the game,” Mullins said. “I think the overtime definitely tested us but we thankfully came out on top and I thought overall we were really confident and composed throughout it all which was really great.”
The game picked up in the second half with junior midfielder Ashely Bonitch leading the Jaspers with three goals.
“Our entire team kept pushing us to keep going and keep shooting,” Bonitch said in an interview with The Quadrangle. “I credit [the team] for my success. Everyone on the defensive end kept causing those turnovers, bringing it down to the offensive end and creating those opportunities for scores.”
Following the hat trick by Bonitch, senior midfielder Julianna Iovine made her first goal of the game from an assist by Olivia Cruthers. A goal by the LIU Sharks tied up the score at the end of the fourth quarter, bringing the game into overtime. The game ended in double overtime with another goal by Iovine and securing an 8-7 win for the Jaspers.
“I think that there were a lot of really good moments on both sides of the ball,” Cruthers said. “Our defense really stepped up, and that was kind of the game changer. We learned a lot from [the game] as a whole and it’s going to help us a lot going forward.”
The team faced the La Salle University Explorers the following week. The Jaspers started the game on a high note with a total of six goals in the first quarter led by Mullins, Cruthers and Emily Fiola.
“I felt like our first quarter that game was probably some of the best offense that we’ve seen from our team and it was a huge team effort as always,” Cruthers said. “We had a ton of assisted goals, more than we’ve seen all season. It was the coming together for our offense that I think is just the base of how great we’re gonna be throughout the rest of the season. I think that everyone had a place in that, everyone had a piece of greatness and it wasn’t just the two of us, but the people who were able to set us up for that.”
The Explorers fought back in the second half. The score remained close in the fourth quarter, while a score by the Explorers ended the fourth quarter in a 12-12 tie with only two minutes to spare. Bonitch eventually brought home the win for the Jaspers in the second overtime with the team cheering from the sidelines.
Following the back-to-back wins in overtime, the team plans to learn from their experience and move forward with optimism as they face their upcoming games.
“Overtime is definitely tough mentally and physically,” Cruthers said. “I feel like since we experienced it so much these past two games, the next games that we do get into another overtime, we are prepared and confident.”
Head coach Jenna Dingler spoke in an interview published to GoJaspers.com about the team’s performance in their win against La Salle University.
“We learned a lot from today’s win,” Dingler said. “We were challenged in many ways, but we are proud of the team for coming out on top. They maintained composure in overtime once again. We are looking forward to applying these lessons to our mindset in future games.”