Women’s lacrosse sees improvement in 2015, season ends with loss

Freshman attackman Kierstyn Voiro looks for a chance to score a goal on Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015 against Niagara University. The women’s lacrosse team finished its season 9-8. (Liz Cornell/B&W photo)

Although Lehigh women’s lacrosse has participated in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals for two consecutive years now, Boston University has prevented the Mountain Hawks from continuing on to the semifinals, having defeated Lehigh both this year and last.

The Mountain Hawks lost to Boston 8-7 Tuesday night, which was an improvement from last season’s game against the Terriers in which Lehigh lost 14-9.

“Overall, our season went well, but it shouldn’t have ended the way it did,” sophomore midfielder Lauren Beausoleil said. “Losing to Boston University for the second time in the Patriot League Tournament was really hard and heartbreaking for the seniors.”

Senior attacker Carli Sukonik had four goals on Tuesday against the Terriers. Beausoleil and senior defenders Lauren Wilcox and Michelle Abramczyk also each scored to give Lehigh a total of seven goals in the game.

“I wanted to win that game more than anything for the seniors,” Beausoleil said. “Although we did lose, we still ended our season with a better record from last year, so I think that’s certainly one thing to be proud of.”

The Mountain Hawks end their season with an overall record of 9-8 and a conference record of 4-4.

The quarterfinal game against Boston wasn’t the only close game the team played in this season. In February, Lehigh played Fairfield University and lost 5-4. One month later they played Bryant University and won 9-8.

“All of our league wins stand out,” head coach Jill Redfern said. “Our Rutgers game was very fun as it was broadcasted on the Big Ten Network.”

In terms of this season’s stats, Lehigh had a goal-shot attempt of 161-351, 20.6 shots per game, 62 assists and a .459 shot percentage. The team had 248 ground balls and 234 turnovers, but only 165 were caused. These statistics are an improvement from the 2014 season where the Mountain Hawks had a goal-shot attempt of 140-280, 17.5 shots per game and 39 assists. Last season, Lehigh also had 246 ground balls and 240 turnovers. The team also ended the 2014 season with an overall record of 7-9.

“We had a solid season this year,” Redfern said. “We made progress in earning a No. 5 seed in the Patriot League Tournament. Our senior class certainly stood out this season. The talent of that class as well as their commitment to our program allowed us to make great strides.”

Seven seniors will graduate this year, one of them being Sukonik, Lehigh’s top scorer. As a junior last season, she was named All-Patriot League honoree for a third straight season and earned second team laurels. This season, she led the Mountain Hawks with 42 goals and four assists. She had six goals in the game against Bucknell in March, the most goals scored in a single game this season.

Sophomore attacker Allison LaBeau finished the 2015 season with the most points, having scored 34 goals and 14 assists. Right behind her, junior Kendall Garden also placed third in terms of most points this season with a total of 34. She had 24 goals and 10 assists. Garden and Wilcox were both selected to the 2015 First-Team All-Patriot League.

Sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Tvedt, who started in 16 of the team’s 17 games, finished the season with a 7.90 goals against average and a save percentage of .420.

“I’m really excited for next year,” Beausoleil said. “We have a young team, but a lot of talent. We also have a great freshman class coming in which will also help our team a lot. We have a lot to reflect on from this year and are going to take our losses as learning lessons.”