Suffolk University’s women’s lacrosse team secured their first Conference of New England victories in program history this week, going 2-0 with wins over Curry College and the Wentworth Institute of Technology.
With their 2-0 start to conference play, the Rams sit at third place in the conference to start their inaugural season.
Curry College became Suffolk’s first conference opponent in program history March 26, with Suffolk taking a 16-15 win in a double-overtime thriller.
“It was a really exciting game,” said head coach Carolynn Keal. “I think it definitely showed our girls the difference between out-of-conference play and in-conference play. We have to take every game seriously and as long as we show up we’re going to put a good self out there. To have it come down to double overtime like that definitely took a couple years off my life, but I’m so proud of them.”
After a first overtime period of stifling defense and shut down offenses, freshman attacker Zoe Peckham delivered Suffolk their first conference win in program history off a goal assisted by sophomore attacker Jessie Le.
“If you watch that overtime back you’ll see a lot of little mistakes, which was definitely because we have a lot of rookies out there. At the end of the day, they come back even harder after their mistakes. They didn’t let themselves fall down, they came back and rose to the occasion to pull out the win,” said Keal.
Freshman attacker Ally Colburn began conference play in dominant fashion, leading the team with six goals apiece in both conference games they played. Colburn currently has 47 goals on the season.
“Ally is a phenomenal attacker. If you need a drive, she’ll drive. She’s gotten better with her feet this season. I think all around she’s a big threat, so when we go into conference play people will be watching out for her and that’ll just light her fire even more,” said Keal.
The Rams followed their double overtime victory with a dominant win over Wentworth, defeating them 19-9.
Leading 9-6 in the third quarter, Suffolk clinched the victory with four unanswered goals to give themselves a seven point lead going into the fourth.
Freshman attacker Julia Dickinson led the charge against Wentworth, totalling eight points off five scores and three assists.
With such a young team performing well in their inaugural season, Keal believes this team has a bright future to look forward to.
“They definitely bring a lot of energy to the table, they ask a lot of questions, they want to learn and get better,” said Keal. “Something that I think grounds our team is that they’re looking towards the future. They’re looking to set a foundation that we can build on for years to come.”
Suffolk looks to continue their undefeated conference record against Roger Williams University April 4. This game will mark their first against Roger Williams in program history.
“I expect this team is going to show up and play gritty, give a lot of hustle. With our last seven games of the season, every time we show up we need to be our best selves and play Suffolk lacrosse. If we do that, they’ll give us a good output,” said Keal.
