It was the home opener for Salve Regina’s Women’s Lacrosse Team at Gaudet Field this past Saturday, and the Seahawks gave their home crowd a show. On a rather cold and rainy day, The Seahawks prospered, smothering Rhode Island College to the tune of 21-0, with ten of their 21 goals coming in the first quarter. Pregame, Rhode Island College Head Coach Neil Dupre commented on what it would take to face Salve.
“We’ve definitely got to slow the game down, their bench [Salve] is the size of our entire team, so we have to make sure that our midfield stays fresh, since we don’t have the numbers, the best way we can do it is when we have possession, we slow it down, take a breath, and give them breaks when we can. Salve is a very solid team in terms of their passing and catching so we’ve got to disrupt that, their goalie is excellent, so we’ve got to make that goalie move, don’t give her any easy shots,” said Dupre.
On the other side, Salve Regina Head Coach Jessica Trautman spoke on previously playing and coaching at Rhode Island College and what it was like to go up against them and get a big win to kickoff the season.
“It took me for a turn at first, I was really excited to join the Seahawks, but then forgetting that I would have to play them [RIC]. I played midfield for RIC for four years and then I ended up being their assistant coach then head coach and it was pretty cool because I learned everything from that team, so I got to transfer into a new time, a new position, a full-time position, and different girls, and a different dynamic. I took everything that I had learned at RIC to these girls and it’s paid off so far,” said Trautman.
Sophomore Cameron Baston started the scoring brigade in the first quarter for Salve, with the first goal of the game, followed by a goal from fellow sophomore Samantha Moleti, who was assisted by Baston. Moleti would strike again, this time with some help from sophomore Holly Sullivan, who would then score her own goal with the help of Baston. Within the blink of an eye, it was 4-0, Salve. Not much later, Sullivan would get her second goal off her own rebound, bringing it up to 5-0, with ten minutes still left in the first quarter.
The scoring would continue for Salve with a free-position goal by senior Nora Trebbe with the clock just under seven minutes. Just over a minute later, Salve would go up 7-0 thanks to sophomore Emma Periera, using the ground to her advantage. The Anchorwomen would finally get a break, with a yellow card on Salve giving them an advantage, but being shorthanded didn’t seem to matter for the Seahawks, with sophomore Kayli Garcia netting a goal at 2:55. Seconds later, sophomore Stella McCormack would score, and she was assisted by senior Gabriella Von Beren. Senior Kelly Ventura would then make it 10-0 just before the conclusion of the first quarter.
In the second quarter the song would remain the same as Salve continued to pour it on with five more goals. Similarly to the first quarter, Baston would trigger the offensive swarm once again, getting a goal less than two minutes in, assisted by Ventura, who would get her second goal of the game not long after, with some help from Baston. Ventura’s goal would be followed by goals from Sullivan, sophomore Carly Thorne, then Ventura again, getting a hat-trick in her home opener. The assists for the goals in the second quarter would be from Moleti, Baston, and Sullivan.
Salve was executing at the point of attack, winning nearly all draws in the game and maintaining offensive possession with an impressive passing game. When Salve did not have possession, they had a stingy defense that was able to create many turnovers. The Seahawks offense was aggressive, taking advantage of every scoring opportunity they had, and they were not afraid to get up into the dirty areas. As for RIC, their play did appear to improve slightly as the game went on, doubling their shots in the second half and their defense creating a few more turnovers. With the Anchorwomen only having fourteen active players on Saturday, the high-flying Seahawks would prove to be a tall task.
Coming into the third quarter up 15-0, the Seahawks would continue business as usual with Emma Breen scoring a minute into the quarter, followed by senior defender Breah Healey scoring what appeared to be her first goal of her career, with Coach Trautman asking for the ball afterwards. Ventura would then get her fourth goal of the game to close out the quarter, proving to be just an absolute machine against the Anchorwomen. After the game, Seahawks Head Coach Jessica Trautman spoke on impact players such as Ventura, Sullivan and Baston.
“Two really good midfielders [Sullivan and Ventura] and a great attack, Holly Sullivan is a really good leader on the field with passing, feeding, setting everybody up, she does a great job at telling people what they’re good at and where they can go to be the most successful. Cam [Baston] and Kelly [Ventura] definitely are the two midfields that hold it down when things are getting jumbled, so they level everybody out,” said Trautman.
In the fourth quarter Salve would net three more goals, with Baston joining Ventura in the hat-trick club with her third goal of the game on a free-position shot to make it 19-0. Baston’s goal would be followed by a goal from freshman Delia Braillard at 6:35, and not long after, fellow freshman Trinity Custodia would close out the game with a goal of her own, bringing the final score to 21-0, Salve. Not to mention Seahawks goalie, sophomore Gracie Haesche was automatic, allowing no RIC goals. Despite multiple free-position attempts, Haesche shut out the Anchorwomen. Haesche also brought the ball out of net a few times, proving she is not afraid to take to the open field and be dynamic.
With a satisfying home win under their belt, the Seahawks will go on the road Wednesday to face Wellesley, who just came off an impressive win of their own, defeating New England College 14-5. As for the Anchorwomen, they will travel to Gordon College to take on the 3-1 Fighting Scots on Tuesday.
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