Timmy Gleason ‘28
Staff Writer
Just over a week ago, the regular season for the Holy Cross Women’s Lacrosse team ended. In a campaign that flew by in the blink of an eye, head coach Amanda Belichick’s squad achieved a very successful year. At the conclusion of the Crusaders’ 18-12 win over Boston University (8-8 overall; seventh in the Patriot League), at Boston’s home turf, the team earned the four seed for the Patriot League postseason tournament.
The Colgate Raiders (9-9 overall; fifth in the Patriot League) ended the year with a thrilling game against Army West Point (13-2 overall; 2nd in the Patriot League), but just came up short in the final moments, going on to lose 16-17.
This fierce competition against the eventual second-seeded Black Knights would set up a very enticing matchup with Holy Cross. Colgate and Holy Cross are separated by only a single seed, but more specifically they both possess the same inner-conference record (5 wins and 4 losses) as well almost an exactly similar overall record, with the Crusaders boasting one more win than the Raiders. All of these factors set the scene at Kuzniewski Field, or more colloquially known as ‘Father K Field’.
A dominant first-quarter performance put the Belichick-led squad in the driver’s seat of the game as they jumped out to a 9-3 lead, including a streak of seven consecutive goals. Two unassisted goals, one by Senior Midfielder Ella Kittredge (her 43rd of the campaign) and the other by Senior Attackwoman Isabella Miller (her 31st of the year), momentarily put Holy Cross in the lead before two Colgate goals.
Beyond that, the Raiders would not be able to stop the Crusaders as they fired in seven straight points in exactly a five-minute span. Senior Attackwoman Sally Zisner netted a first-quarter hat trick (!) on the back of assists by Isabella Miller, Ella Kittredge, and Sophomore Attackwoman Kate Avitabile. The party did not stop there, as Riley Peters, Kate Burns, and Kate Avitabile would get in on the action netting their 23rd, 13th, and 14th goal on the year, while Zisner added an additional goal. A lone goal by Colgate would provide consultation for the Raiders as they faced a quickly mounting deficit at the end of a fast-paced first quarter.
The ensuing three quarters of play were much more balanced. The second quarter produced eight goals, which was equally slight between Holy Cross and Colgate, while the third quarter favored the Crusaders. The Raiders did end on a positive note, slightly scoring more goals than Holy Cross in the final period of play (4-3), but that would not prove to be enough as Colgate was ultimately eliminated from the first round of the Patriot League Tournament by a final score of 19-13.
Within the second quarter Kittredge completed her hat trick and familiar-scoring-faces of Zisner and Peters further compiled the misery onto the New York-based Raiders. Despite scoring three straight goals before halftime, Colgate would not be able to capitalize on this monument going into the second-to-last quarter of play. Senior Attackwoman Riley Peters would go on to earn her hat trick as well, joining teammates Zisner and Kittredge while both Sophomore Midfielders Annabel Brennan and Jenn Prince sketched their names onto the scorecard deep into the contest.
The victory against the fifth seeded Colgate Raiders is another brick to add to the house that Amanda Belichick has built over her years as the Head Coach of the Holy Cross Women’s Lacrosse Program. The result of the Crusaders’ dominant victory? A trip to Baltimore, Md. to tee-off against the #1 seed within the entire Patriot League, Loyola Maryland on Thursday, May 1 at 3 p.m. This game was played after this week’s edition of The Spire was formatted.
Almost two weeks ago, Holy Cross traveled to the same place to take on the same opponent. The matchup ended 20-10 in favor of the Maryland group, but with a commanding victory under their belts and all the monument on their side, the next matchup for the Holy Cross Women’s Lacrosse team is must-see-TV.
Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics
Web Edited by Zexuan Qu ’28
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