The Hartford Hawks Women’s Lacrosse team opened their season tonight, falling 16-13 to the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors.
1st Period
Eastern Connecticut opened the game on a 4-0 run, with Alexa Vizini scoring 2 of the first four goals for the Warriors. However, the Hartford Hawks battled back, led by Meghan Smith, who scored three goals in the final eight minutes of the first period, as the Hawks tied the game up at 4-4 with 40 seconds remaining. With 0:29 seconds remaining, the Warriors Aby Parisi scored her second of the afternoon, as Eastern Connecticut would end the first period up 5-4.
2nd Period
Hartford opened up the second period with two goals inside a minute, as sophomores Laurel McIntosh and Katie Graham each scored a goal to give the Hawks a 6-5 lead. Eastern Connecticut responded with two goals of their own, as Vizini added a third goal and Avonlea Lebeau scored her second goal of the day, and first of three in the second period, as East Conn took a 7-6 lead.
The back-and-forth battle continued as Hartford and Eastern Connecticut exchanged goals, with first year Kate Zonin scoring her first collegiate goal. Hartford’s Talei Ricketson scored two of Hartford’s final three goals of the second period, as the Hawks would enter halftime with an 11-9 lead.
3rd Period
Down 11-9 at the start of the second half, the Warriors scored six unanswered goals to begin the third period, taking a 15-11 lead. A goalie change for Eastern Connecticut saw first year Maizie Rukat enter the game, where she saved both shots on goal she faced in the third period.
4th Period
The Hawks began to battle back, with Meghan Smith scoring her fifth of the afternoon, and Laurel McIntosh adding her second to cut Eastern Connecticut’s lead to 15-13. A free position attempt for Sara Costa came up empty-handed, as Rukat made her 4th save of the afternoon, keeping the Warriors lead to two goals. A turnover in the last minute stopped the momentum for the Hartford, as the Warriors would score one final goal and hang on to win the game 16-13.
Despite the loss, the Hawks saw a strong performance from Meghan Smith, who scored five goals and recorded four assists in the contest. The Hartford Hawks are back in action on Saturday, when they’ll face off against Vassar in Poughkeepsie, New York, the game is expected to start at 1 PM.
