Prior to Thursday (April 10) at Ferguson Field, Ashland University's women's lacrosse team was 0-6 all-time against Walsh.
The operative word there is "was."
Thanks to an overall strong performance, the Eagles earned their first-ever victory against the Cavaliers, 19-10 on Thursday – taking sole possession of first place in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the process. Ashland is 9-5 overall and 5-0 in the league, and the Cavaliers are 7-8, 5-1.
"Confidence, building their confidence. Telling them that they can do it," said AU head coach
Lauren Simko, whose team is 6-1 in the last seven outings. "This year, they finally believed it. We are super-deep across the board. I think they finally all believed that they can do it.
"It's fun. It's a really fun bunch."
One of the key Eagles on Thursday was sophomore midfielder
Lily Cain. Injured early in 2024 and unable to play against the Cavaliers last spring, Cain finished Thursday with a goal, an assist and a caused turnover – while playing the entire field.
"Last year, I wanted to play against Walsh so bad," Cain said. "Coming here and being able to play again…I'm just so happy. Having all of us able to score, definitely is something a lot of G-MAC teams don't have."
"One thing I like about Lily is she does all the dirty work," Simko said. "She comes up with great plays on both sides of the ball."
Two defenders who helped keep Walsh's offense in check were players more accustomed to being attackers/midfielders – junior
Lauren Hinders and freshman
Nataley Blackburn.
"The defense did all that they could do," Simko said. "They both see the defensive side of the game really well. One thing that we like about Lauren is she is selfless in her defensive play. Nat is super-scrappy."
And then there was freshman attacker
Tori Wanat, who may very well have turned in the most all-around impressive game in the young history of AU women's lacrosse – six goals and three assists for nine points, three ground balls and 18 draw controls (Walsh as a team had 11 draw controls).
"She's awesome," Simko said. "She is just a workhorse on the field. She just grinds and grinds. And she's super-humble."
MORE AU HEROES…AND THE REST OF THE STORY
- Junior attacker Rachel Crumbacher also scored nine points on Thursday (four goals, five assists), and junior attacker Ashley Fisher added four goals and an assist for five points.
- Junior goalkeeper Annie Duncan made seven saves in the victory.
- Thursday's game featured 61 shots (AU led 32-29) and 48 turnovers (AU 25, Walsh 23).
UP NEXT
Senior Day on Saturday (April 12) at noon vs. Malone (10-6, 3-3).
