Suffolk Lacrosse fell to Johnson and Wales University 19-12 on April 25. Despite the loss, Suffolk hung their hat on an impressive season that has built a strong foundation to improve on in the future.
“Making the playoffs for the first time in program history was a huge accomplishment, and just being on that field was a win in itself for us,” said Suffolk attacker Julia Dickinson. “The loss definitely motivates us to keep pushing the standard and improve every year.”
Suffolk lost to Johnson and Wales in the first round of the CNE women’s lacrosse playoffs. JWU got off to a quick start taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. Suffolk was able to rattle off three straight goals of their own to start the second quarter and tie the game at three.
JWU responded with three goals, before Bridget O’Leary was able to score a goal right before half to make it 6-4 going into the break. Suffolk was able to hang around in the third quarter as four different players were able to find the back of the net for the Rams. JWU had a slim three goal lead going into the final period.
The Rams were not able to keep pace with the Wildcats in the fourth quarter as Riley Shipley scored three goals in just this quarter to put the game away.
Shipley had seven goals to lead all scorers. Julia Dickinson had a hat trick to lead Suffolk in scoring.
“Having done that and getting to experience playoff action for the first time as a program was a huge win. We will take this experience into the next season and be ready to take on the post season again,” said head coach Carolynn Keal.
The Rams have checked off a big milestone for a young program. Suffolk ended the year 8-9, finishing as the sixth seed and achieving the playoff berth that eluded them in their inaugural season.
Suffolk has relied on coach Keal to lead the Rams, since the program started play last season. Suffolk was 3-6 in conference play in their first season, which improved to 5-5 this season.
“The players that make up this program have fully invested themselves in what it takes to make this a championship level program,” said Keal. “Those goals don’t happen overnight, it takes years of development and committed players to make it happen. I want to thank every single one of our players for staying committed and pushing themselves every day to get us to the point in our second year.”
After losing a top offense player, Ally Colburn. Suffolk’s offense stayed consistent their offense ranked fourth in goals per game last year and again ranked fourth this season. Pair that with improved play in net from Charlotte Guziejka, Suffolk has a lot of returning players who had a big impact this season.
“I think the biggest thing for us going into next season is continuing to build on the trust and chemistry that we had with each other this year, because that’s where a lot of our offensive success comes from,” said Dickinson.
Suffolk has high expectations for next year as they continue to improve as a young team.
“After making the playoffs this year, I think the expectation that everyone has for next year is to build on that and go even further, as a young program we have a lot of room to grow and get better every season,” said Dickinson.
Suffolk will begin their chase for a playoff run and their third season next spring.
