Rowan women’s lacrosse streak ended by No. 10 Catholic University

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It may or may not be spring fever, but something has gotten into the Rowan women’s lacrosse team.

Before March 29’s 20-10 loss to No. 10 Catholic University, the brown and gold had won four consecutive games. The streak began with March 14’s matchup against Western New England University, a game that saw the Profs rack up a then season-high 13 goals.

Rowan was outscoring its opponents, 58-29, and goals were coming from all over the field.

Six players have 10 or more goals so far this season, while one player has nine.

“It’s just a good balance, a good mix,” head coach Lindsay Delaney said. “No one really is goal hungry, they just want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can to get the best option and the best look at cage. In the past we haven’t had seven girls who can score.”

In the past, the Profs have also seemingly relied on a single player to pour in the points.

In 2015, it was Becca Wood who paced the brown and gold, scoring 52 goals in 14 games, while the next closest scorer had 33. Last year the disparity was even greater, as attack Rachel Hofbauer scored 49 goals, while the next player had 23. Delaney called that “a huge and unnecessary gap.”

Delaney doesn’t believe any negatives will come from the team’s current situation.

“In this group, without that gap, I think that just makes the defense spread themselves out and not be able to pick out one person,” Delaney said.

Prior to the game against Catholic, senior attack Ali Herbert said that they were going to take the game just like any other.

“We know they’re great competitors and one of the best in the country,” Herbert said. “We’re not going to psych ourselves out about it. We’re just going to play harder.”

However, Thursday’s game was uncharacteristic for the Profs.

During their winning streak, the brown and gold averaged 16.5 draw controls per game. Against the Cardinals, Rowan only managed six.

Before the game, Delaney stressed the importance of winning the draw control.

“Anytime that you can dominate the draw, that gets the ball in your stick,” Delaney said. “Possession is key.”

Following the loss to the Cardinals, the Profs record stands at 5-3. They will next see action on April 4 against University of Scranton.

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