By Teziah Howard / The Jambar
A Saturday evening at Farmers National Bank Field saw the Youngstown State University women’s lacrosse team host Robert Morris University. In a high-scoring battle, the Penguins were bested 16-12.
YSU came into the matchup with a 5-5 overall record. The Penguins have yet to win a Mid-American Conference game.
An early defensive battle turned into an offensive attack between the two teams. The ’Guins faced nearly 40 shots during the contest, but only mustered 23 of their own.
Despite the loss, the Penguins had multiple athletes record more than one goal. Sophomore Brooke Peck led the way for YSU and tied her career-high of four goals. Sophomore Grace Rund and junior Ally Garrett tallied two scores.
Sophomores Katie Grottenthaler, Ava Kreutzer and Lena Cox added goals as well. Freshman Claire Baenziger also tallied a score in the matchup.
Junior Brooke Harper had a busy night with a career-high 11 saves. YSU struck first when Peck scored with 11:57 remaining in the first period.
The Colonials responded and knotted the game at one apiece. Junior Samantha Brothers of RMU was assisted by junior Vivian LaMange.
Robert Morris took the lead when senior Jenna Irwin scored off of freshman Mia Bertoff’s assist with 6:56 remaining in the first period.
The second tied score of the matchup came under four minutes in the first period. Rund was assisted by Cox to even the score 2-2. Baenziger gave YSU the lead with just under three minutes remaining.
Three goals back-to-back by the Colonials gave them the lead over the Penguins, who trailed Robert Morris for the remainder of the contest. The Colonials put the ball in the back of the cage seven times in the second period.
RMU claimed the lead until the end of regulation, as YSU attempted a late-game comeback. The Penguins faced their largest deficit of the matchup of six, when Robert Morris graduate student Gia Anthony scored with 12 minutes left.
Peck, Garrett and Rund cut the Colonials’ lead down to three. However, Anthony would not be denied as she tallied yet another goal, bringing the score to 15-11.
Garrett responded for the Penguins with over three minutes remaining in regulation. With 17 seconds left in the match, RMU freshman Jade Doldo netted the final goal to seal the deal at 16-12.
Garrett expressed her demeanor toward the remainder of the season. She said the team has to continue to work hard no matter what.
“The main area of focus for the team moving forward is to just keep putting in the work everyday, even if it’s 1%, 10% or 100%,” Garrett said.
The Penguins will be back on the road for a matchup against George Washington University on April 4 in the nation’s capital. To view live stats and stay updated, visit ysusports.com.