CHESTER, PA (March 6, 2021)- FDU Women's Lacrosse traveled to Widener University on Saturday afternoon to open their 2021 season, pulling out a tight one, 10-9. With the victory, the Devils improve to 1-0 on the season while the Pride fall to 0-1.
First Half
It was a defensive struggle throughout the first six-minutes of play, with neither team recording a shot until inside the 24:00 minute mark. It was then, at 23:49 that the Pride took a one-goal lead. Less then two-minute later, it was Widener again, increasing the lead to two, with 22:07 left in the half. FDU responded quickly at 20:33, thanks to first-year,
Aubrey Hunter, recording her first points in a Devils uniform.
After nine-minutes of back and forth action, FDU first-year,
Paige Frye recorded the first of her career, man-up, at 11:53. The Pride regained the lead quickly, however, netting their third of the game at 11:02. Less than two-minutes later, Devils sophomore midfielder,
Kylee Garcia scored her first at 9:03, tying the score at 3-3. From there, the Devils ran, scoring three goals between 3:38 and 2:30. Senior,
Mia Michaelides scored off an assist from Frye, sophomore,
Emma Ciquera netted her first off a free position shot and Michaelides scored her second off an assist from sophomore,
Olivia Chaoush. FDU took a 6-3 lead into the break.
Second Half
Widener got the scoring started less than three-minutes into the second half, cutting the Devil lead to two. FDU responded at the 23:32 mark off the stick of first-year,
Katie Walsh, assisted by Chaoush. After a Widener shot hit the crossbar, the Pride capitalized at the 20-minute mark, cutting the lead to 7-5. Three-minutes later, Widener inched closer, before tying the game at 7-7, with 10:43 left.
The Pride regained their first lead since 10-minutes into the first half, 8-7, thanks to a goal at 9:37. Graduate Student,
Aliyha Elk had the response, netting a free position shot at 6:28. Back and forth the game continued, as Widener regained a 9-8 advantaged with four-minutes remaining in the contest. After a Walsh ball control, Chaoush capitalized for FDU, tying the game with less than three-minutes remaining. The Devils didn't stop there, continuing to be aggressive on offense and being reward at the 2:03 mark with the game-winner, off the stick of Chaoush, for the win. The Devils secured the 10-9 victory.
Lead Devils
Chaoush was everywhere for FDU, recording three assists and one goal on two shots. She also recorded three groundballs. Ciquera and Michaelides each recorded two goals on the day.
Team Effort
The Devils had eight different scorers in the contest and recorded four assists as a team. In total, FDU won the groundball battle, 29-23.
From Coach
"Extremely proud of how we played for our first game after not playing in a year. The best parts of the game were seeing them work together all over the field. We were extremely aggressive in our defensive end. Our first-year players stepped up big time and we are very excited to be back to playing and seeing what our team is capable of accomplishing." – Head Coach,
Evan Mager.
Next Up
The Devils return to action, Saturday, March 13, when they host Lebanon Valley College at 1:00pm on Robert T. Shields Field.
