The women’s lacrosse team beat Rhode Island College 16-1 on Wednesday night, pushing its record to 4-1.

The Lions got off to a quick start to the 2022 season, winning the first three games but encountering a road bump in a game against Drew College losing 18-6. Head Coach Jessie Koffman said this loss motivated the team to bounce back. 

“I think they really just wanted to snap back from [the loss against Drew College] and they did,” she said after the win against Rhode Island College.

Emerson’s women’s lacrosse team has been very limited over the course of the past two seasons, only playing a combined five games. Koffman said the team is a close-knit group which has helped their success on the field.

“There’s more camaraderie and understanding that we have to just take advantage of the opportunity that we have right now,” she said after the game. “Everyone’s really on the same page and working towards the same goal of just having a fun and winning season.”

Emerson won the initial draw but was stopped on their first possession. It wouldn’t be too long before the Lions’ sophomore attacker Lauren Longstreet pulled off a spin move to score the first goal of the game. 

The next goal came from a free position shot just in front of the crease by senior midfielder Ainsley Basic who scored another two goals in the first six minutes.

After just over six minutes, Rhode Island hadn’t shot the ball and was down 4-0. The spree of goals and upper field pressure caused Rhode Island to call their first timeout of the game.

The stoppage of time didn’t slow the Lions’ momentum, and when play resumed Longstreet netted her second goal of the game. Less than 30 seconds later, sophomore attacker Jules Rein extended the lead to six. 

Rhode Island had its first look at a goal nine minutes into the game, forcing Emerson’s junior goalie Nina Khosla to make her first save of the night. The ball went down to the other side of the field which ended in another save from the Anchormen. 

Rein scored her second goal of the game, making the score 7-0. An intercepted pass by sophomore midfielder Maddy Reyes would start the Lions’ next successful possession, which ended with a goal put into the bottom left corner by Basic. 

Before the end of the first quarter, Kohsla was put to the test once again but made the save. The 15-minute quarter ended with Emerson up 8-0.

The second quarter got off to a much slower start and after 90 seconds the Lions were penalized for a clock violation. During this time Khosla made two pivotal saves to keep the shutout going. 

Basic scored the first goal of the second quarter on a free shot, starting the Lions on another scoring spree including a goal by Reyes running the score up to 10-0.

The Rhode Island defense kept the Lions away for five minutes, but within the last two minutes of the half, Emerson started to strike again. 

Anchormen goalkeeper Shannon O’Connell stepped up to make three saves in less than a minute, but she couldn’t keep the ball out of the net for too long. Basic found an opening to extend the Lions’ lead and on the next draw, Emerson won and scored off a shot by first-year attacker Callie Krosen. The Lions entered the half leading 12-0.

Following the 10-minute intermission, the Lions’ offense came back onto the field with high energy, scoring off a shot from Longstreet to open the second half. It was back and forth for the next nine minutes of play but Rhode Island scored their first goal of the game, breaking up the clean sheet.

First-year midfielder Samantha Duggan scored with less than a minute left to play in the third quarter, extending the Lions’ lead to 14-1. 

The fourth quarter played out in a similar fashion as the Lions tallied a goal at the start of the period and another within the last minute. Basic scored six of the team’s 16 goals. The senior captain said the team’s offensive cohesiveness led to the dominant performance.

“Our attack works really well together and it really is a team performance,” Basic said after the game. “We’re really able to work together and play to their strengths on attack.”

The team’s next game will be this Saturday away at Coast Guard Academy for the first NEWMAC match-up of the season. Koffman said the pathway to claiming their first conference win of the season is a repetition of the showcase against Rhode Island College.

“The Coast Guard is going to be a tough opponent,” she said. “We’re going to try and bring the same energy and just go out there and execute the same way that we did tonight.”