Stevenson women’s lacrosse (9-4, 3-0 MAC) has taken every conference matchup seriously and so far, winning them in decisive fashion including their most recent win over the Golden Wolves of Alvernia University (4-9, 0-3 MAC) with a score of 22-8 on Saturday.
“Starting off the conference with a win streak is huge for us and keeping that streak against Alvernia was awesome. We are having so much fun out there and I think Saturday was a great tea, win to build off of and give us more momentum” said senior attacker Kara Yarusso on her thoughts on the team so far this season in conference play.
These last two games, Yarusso has led the Mustangs to cruising victories over Alvernia and Hood College, earning her a second MAC Player of the Week award. She had eight goals in the win over Alvernia and added six goals and one assist in the win over Hood.
It was a slaying of the Golden Wolves as Stevenson jumps out to 9-0 lead in the first 13 minutes of a 10-goal first quarter.
Over the course of the run, five different Mustangs scored. First-year Ava Treakle and graduate student Erin Steinberg led with three each. Junior Kellyann Coccia, junior Isabelle VanEmburgh and graduate student Sophia Murray all tallied one.
Alvernia gets on the board to shrink the lead to eight with 1:59 left in the quarter. Yet, Yarusso strikes again going on a 3-0 run herself at the end of the first. The score was 12-1 going into the second quarter.
As the second went on, the Golden Wolves would try to put up a fight cutting into the deficit twice, but it was no match for the ‘Stangs as Yarusso and Murray add to their lead, making it 14-3 at the half.
Stevenson starts second half play right where they left off with another quick goal from Yarusso, her fifth of the game.
Alvernia cools off the Stangs’ stampede and go on a run of their own, making it a 5-1 quarter and cutting their deficit down to 7 with a quarter left of play.
Stevenson was able to shut the Wolves out in the final period, tacking on seven more goals in the process for a final score of 22-8.
With the win, they remain unbeaten in conference play, and win their seventh straight.
Looking ahead, Stevenson has four games left this season. Those opponents include York College of Pennsylvania, Messiah University, Albright College, and Widener University.
Yarusso shared insight on the team’s preparation against tough conference opponent York.
“We are preparing for York the same way we do with everyone by focusing on scout and figuring out which matchups and plays will give us the mot success. I think we are all really excited going into this game and just keeping the confidence we have from these last couple games is going to be huge going into this big game,” Yarusso said.
Stevenson has always had a rivalry with York in the MAC and continues to build on that competition. This team is looking to avenge their loss to them from last season.
“York is always a big game because they are one of the best teams in the MAC, and since I’ve been here, we haven’t been able to secure a win. My sophomore year was the closet we have gotten, and I think that everyone is ready to end that streak and end up on top this year. It is always important to respect opponents, but we are still going to remain confident and not go in scared but ready to win,” Yarusso said.
The Mustangs host the Spartans of York College of Pennsylvania Wednesday at 7 p.m. Livestream will be available here.
