Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
3-3
Marquette
3-5
Chippewa Lacrosse Falls At Marquette
3/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Lacrosse
Zach Libby, CMUChippewas.com
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The pattern for the Central Michigan women's lacrosse team has emerged six games into its inaugural season.
The Chippewas locked up with an established program in Marquette on Saturday, coming away with a 17-4 loss.
It was the second Big East opponent this season for the Chippewas. Their first, Cincinnati, handed CMU a loss on March 6.
Central Michigan has gamers, the description coach Sara Tisdale gives her impact players offensively and inside the goal, but a learning curve is still in affect when their non-conference schedule which features a handful of veteran programs.
The Golden Eagles (3-5) used a 12-goal run for the decisive home victory as the Chippewas slipped to 3-3. CMU concludes non-conference play in Mount Pleasant next Sunday against Robert Morris.
"Marquette is a great team and they worked hard for every possession," Tisdale said. "They made a challenge for every possession that we had and they valued the ball a lot. We knew that it was going to be a tough game, but we were hoping to see more than what we were able to."
Sydney Wright scored two goals on four shots to lead CMU. Riley Huda and Natalie Bloniarz also scored, the latter's coming with 19:07 left in the first half, drawing the Chippewas to 4-2.
Julianna Shearer answered less than two minutes later, starting Marquette's run of 12 consecutive goals. Shearer finished with five goals to lead the Golden Eagles.
"Our goal against tougher teams is to get the shots off and possess the ball, but we were not able to do that today," Tisdale said.
One of the key ingredients in a successful lacrosse program is winning the ground ball battle. The Chippewas did that on Saturday, holding a 20-17 edge.
That stat was trumped, however, by the Golden Eagles' ability to clear on defense. They manged 15 clears to CMU's seven.
"They ran the same play over and over again which doesn't speak well about our defense," Tisdale said. "They moved the ball really well and moved without it really well, very collective offense. You can tell that their offense wasn't learned overnight."
Dominique Hamman and Clare Laughery split the game in goal for CMU. Hamman, the starter, surrendered 14 goals and made six saves in 25:18 of game time. Laughery, in her first game action since March 11, made one save and allowed three goals.
"For Dom, it was one of those things were she would normally make saves that she wasn't making today," Tisdale said. "We learn a lot from this games and the speed that they're normally played at and the intensity that it's played at. These games teach us more than any sizable win."
