Sports & Outdoors

Lacrosse tops Linfield to finish season at 6-6

The Puget Sound women’s lacrosse team ended the 2011 season on a high note this past weekend, wrapping up the year with a 19-8 victory over the Linfield Wildcats on Saturday. The Loggers dropped a match to Pacific University on Friday by a score of 18-12, but salvaged the split with the victory over Linfield. The split this past weekend gave the Loggers a 6-6 final record for the 2011 season.

On Friday, senior Ana Calciano (Farmington, Conn.) posted 17 saves for the Loggers, but it wasn’t quite enough to hold off the Boxers. Sophomore Julia Schulman (Durham, N.C.) started off the scoring, giving the Loggers an early 1-0 lead. Pacific then went on a four-goal run and never relinquished the lead. Several Loggers had excellent scoring performances on the day as Schulman tallied four goals, while sophomore Bradia Holmes (Boulder, Colo.) added three and senior Kristine Morris (Tiburon, Calif.) added two. Calciano’s great performance in the net comes as no surprise to the Loggers, as she is currently ranked fourth overall in Division III in saves.

On Saturday, it was the Loggers who led the way. Schulman scored the first goal of the day for the Loggers right off the bat and Puget Sound never gave up the lead. By the end of the first half, the Loggers had extended their lead to 9-3. Schulman posted a great performance on the day, ending with six goals. Morris recorded four goals in the game and senior Anna Gunderson (Bloomington, Minn.) added three. Calciano added another seven saves to her impressive season total as well.

The Loggers end the season with a .500 record. The 2011 team’s 6-6 mark gives the program their fourth consecutive .500 or better season. Julia Schulman led the team in overall points, tallying an impressive 61.  She scored 56 goals, more than double any other Logger, and added five assists. Gunderson finished second in points with 50 and led the team with six assists on the year to go along with 19 goals.

As a team the Loggers shot a higher percentage than their opponents and outscored opponents 14-3 in man-up opportunities.  The team also wracked up an incredible 153 saves thanks in large part to the work in goal done by Ana Calciano.

Although the team will lose several key components for the 2012 campaign, including Calciano, Gunderon and fellow senior Katie Pavlat (Eugene, Ore.), the team will return plenty of key players, including Schulman, Morris and Holmes who finished first, second and third in goals respectively.  They should all be vital parts of the Logger’s efforts next season. With a strong returning group and a tradition of success, the women’s lacrosse program should be excited about the possibilities for the 2012 season.