By Paige Apps, Sports Reporter
At the matchup against Detroit Mercy on Saturday, the women’s lacrosse team struggled with a new challenge this season: being prepared. Coming into the game, the Griffs may have overlooked the opponents more than they should have.
“I think we need to come out prepared,” said head coach Russell Allen. He continued, “I think maybe we overlooked them, which we should never be doing when we’re this young.”
Canisius got on the board first as Mia Estelle scored her second goal of the season before Detroit Mercy rattled off six straight goals, giving them a 6–1 lead late in the second period.
“I think that was kind of the toughest game that I’ve seen us play since I’ve been at Canisius in terms of being able to just play our level of lacrosse,” said head coach Russell Allen.
Continuing into the season, overlooking a team isn’t an option anymore, especially with a roster as young as this season’s team.
Sophomore Olivia Licardi is in her second season of college lacrosse and has already established herself as Canisius’ starting goalie. At Detroit Mercy this past weekend, she was credited with four stops in the Canisius 12–7 loss.
“She’s been looking excellent in practice and I think she just needs to have that breakthrough game to give her the confidence in a game,” Coach Allen commented on Licardi’s performances this season. While Licardi appeared in five games her freshman season, she’s still relatively new to the role. As with the rest of the underclassmen-heavy team, confidence is something that needs to be boosted in the sophomore goalie before returning home for conference play.
Along with the goalie position, defense on the team is almost entirely new. Other than junior defender Briaunna D’Andrade, no one else on defense has started prior to this season. Gaining confidence is crucial for the team’s success, especially when so many younger players and even juniors are now in roles they previously hadn’t occupied.
The next tasks on the road for the Griffs are matchups against Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 11 a.m. and Le Moyne on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The team returns to the Demske Sports Complex on Mar. 8 for two non-conference home games before starting MAAC play.
Photo courtesy of Canisius Athletics
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