While most Boston-area festivities this weekend were focused on the 129th Marathon, at Rotch Field, the Emerson women’s lacrosse team were celebrating their 2025 graduating class.
Ultimately, the Lions fell in a close match to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buccaneers, 11-10.
The night began with a ceremony recognizing the contributions and careers of the three senior captains: midfielder Grace Danehy, attacker Callie Krosin, and midfielder Ava Selby. One of the Lions’ highest-attended games this season brought out many families, friends, and fans with posters and shirts celebrating the senior class. Before their last-ever home game, Danehy, Krosin, and Selby walked through a tunnel of teammates to greet their families and take photos with them and the coaches.
Teammates and coaches alike pointed out both the seniors’ athletic prowesses and amiable personalities.
“They really have helped us hit a turning point for our program, as far as setting a standard of what we do, how we act and how we treat our team,” assistant coach Hannah Pelletier said.
“They give their all to this team, while we’re at practice but also checking in on us off the field—really making the connections that help us be a team,” first-year midfielder Laina Gustafson added.
Danehy will be remembered for her upbeat attitude and fun personality as a leader on this team.
“Grace [Danehy] is super high energy and always knows the right thing to say,” sophomore defender Sydney O’Hara said. “She also brings the average height of our team way up.”
“She really filled a huge hole in our offense,” head coach Jessie Koffman said. “She’s fun to be around and she just is very positive—something you definitely want in a captain.”
Krosin stands out as the team’s rock, stepping into the captain role for the second year.
“I mean, her stats speak for themselves, but she is also just a great leader, always helping her teammates to reach their highest potential,” Koffman said. “She’s a huge part of our offense too.”
“I really don’t know how we’d get anything done without her,” O’Hara admitted.
Selby was referred to as “genuinely a great teammate in every way.”
“Ava [Selby] is really good at balancing out the chaos of the team,” O’Hara said. “She’s level-headed and incredibly talented both on and off the field, which is helpful for keeping us focused when we have to be.”
“Selby is a silent leader—leads by example,” Koffman said. “[She’s] huge in our midfield and always finds a way to find the back of the net.”
The younger players agree that the seniors have been the backbone of this season with their leadership, creating a welcoming environment on and off the field.
“They’re very approachable and hilarious,” first-year attacker Bella Vaccari said. “They’re really like the heart of this team.”
The first quarter opened with a goal from the Buccaneers, followed by multiple saves by junior goalie Ellie Spotts as the teams traded possession. The Bucs notched a second goal before sophomore Ava DelliCompagni scored twice to tie the game 2-2.
Mass Maritime bounced right back and tallied one more goal with 1:46 left, but Krosin scored less than a minute later to end the quarter 3-3.
Selby opened the scoring in the second quarter to give the Lions their first lead of the game, 4-3. Spotts made another save, but the Bucs were relentless and tied the game a minute later. Both teams scored on multiple 8-meter shots—Emerson’s two awarded to Gustafson.
While Spotts and the Lions defense worked to protect the crease, Mass. Maritime notched one more goal to pull ahead 7-6 at half.
The back-and-forth continued into the third as both teams racked up shots for the entire first half of the quarter, before the Bucs finally scored with 8:43 remaining, doubling their lead to 2 goals. Krosin retaliated less than a minute later to cut that lead to one, 8-7.
The Buccaneers brought their lead to two again, scoring on an 8-meter shot with 5:54 remaining. Both teams then went scoreless until the last minute of the quarter, when sophomore midfielder/attacker Holland Rutter and DelliCompagni scored back to back, to tie the game again going into the fourth.
Emerson’s defense held strong in the final frame, keeping the Bucs at bay all the way until the last seven minutes, when they tallied a goal to take the lead. Selby scored 30 seconds later to tie the game at 6 minutes, before the Bucs grabbed one last goal to just edge out the Lions in the final minutes of the game.
The loss did not result from lack of effort, as Emerson recorded 36 shots on the night, with six hitting the goal post or crossbar in the second half, and Spotts tallied 15 saves.
The Lions will finish their season on the road versus Salve Regina on April 23 at 7 p.m.
