Women'slaxloses a heartbreakerinPACchampionship

Jason Jungreis assistant sports editor

Despite a quick comeback by the Lady Cavs lacrosse team, Cedar Crest College's offensive outburst was too much ground for the Lady Cavs to cover as they lost 15-12 in the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference championship game on Sunday,April 27.

The game started off with Cedar Crest taking a 3- l lead over the La.dy Cavs with 15 minutes left in the first half. Cabrini called a timeout with 11:24 left in the first half to try and regroup.

The Lady Cavs came back from the timeout with two quick goals. Sophomore Jessi Valerio scored to get the Lady Cavs within one, 3-2.

Both teams would go on to add goals, with Cedar Crest scoring a couple and the Lady Cavs staying right with them. With the score 8-5, the Lady Cavs went on a 3-1 run to get with in one point of a 9-8 margin.

However, it was all Cedar Crest's game from there. The team went on a 5-0 run, raising their side of the score board to a lopsided score of 14-8.

With the Lady Cavs down by six goals, and with 6:39 left on the clock in the second half, the chances of a comeback seemed very grim for the Lady Cavs.

That would not be the case though, as an offensive attack was ignited by Cabrini, starting with a quick goal by sophomore Lesley Kerrigan.

Even though the Lady Cavs put up a very exciting comeback fight, they fell three goals shy of tying the game as-CedarCrest added one more with th{ee seconds left.

"We really tried to keep the competitive edge," said senior goalie Stephanie Casinelli. "We fought all the way until the end of the game," said Kerrigan. "If we had about four or five more minutes, I think we would have won the game."

Valerio, who was named the PAC most valuable player in an awards ceremony following the game, lead all scorers with six goals. Kerrigan tallied three along with one goal each from first-year student Merrie Lewis and juniors Donna Falcone and Carrie Borish.

"We were naturally disappointed [about the game]," said file photo than exceeded the average performance expected of a first-season team. "It was an amazing season," said Falcone.

First-year student Merrie Lewis defends her opponent in a recent Lady Gav's lacrosse game. The team made it to the final round of the PAC Championship but fell to Cedar Crest, 15-12. Casinelli. "But it was a great season, and a very exciting experience. The girls should all be very proud of the season we had."

The Lady Cavs finished 11-3 overall and 7-2 in the PAC. This year marked the Lady Cavs' first season in the PAC, and they more

"We got on a roll an things just fell into place. We accomplished a lot because of the team chemistry that we have. Jackie [head coach

Jackie Neary] is a great coach who never lost confidence in us. "We couldn't have done it without her."

"Next year we expect to go back to this tournament and win it," Kerrigan added. "We have the talent, and now we have the confidence to do it too."