SOUTHFIELD, Mich. - Coming in on a two-game win streak, the Madonna Women's Lacrosse Team (3-7, 2-3) hoped to keep it alive as they traveled down the road to face their crosstown rivals, the #3 Lawrence Tech University Blue Devils (8-1, 4-0). The game, which was originally slated for 5:00 pm, was pushed back nearly two hours due to a tornado warning, yet the Crusaders played on. While the Crusaders fought hard, they were unable to keep up with the Blue Devils in the end, falling 23-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The story of the game was draw controls. As hard as Madonna played, Lawrence Tech always seemed to have one step on them in the draw circle, running away with great position and a headstart to the net each time. After one half, the Blue Devils were already up 15-0.

The Crusaders were finally able to begin chipping away coming out of the half. The first Crusader strike came from senior Courtney Hoeland, the team's third leading scorer. Hoeland blew right past the Blue Devils' defenders following the draw control win by freshman LeeAnn Johnson. Left with basically a one-on-one with the Blue Devils' goalie, Hoeland fired a laser to the left-middle of the net, barely ducking under the stick of their goalie for the score.

Not long after Hoeland's goal, another Crusader draw control win would set up the Crusaders' second goal of the day. This time it was their captain and Madonna's all-time leading scorer, senior Aria Gettel, who stepped into the draw circle and ran away with the ground ball. Following Gettel's win to start the possession, her co-captain Mia Dyson would get the score with a shot to the top-right of the net that zipped past the Blue Devils' goalie.

An assist from Hoeland set up the Crusaders' third and final score of the day: coming from an underhanded slap shot to the bottom-right corner of the net by Dyson for her second score of the day. Dyson's goal was most certainly a moral victory for the Crusaders, as despite the deficit, the whole team stopped to celebrate with her in a heartfelt moment.

In the end, the Crusaders would go down 23-3. Despite the high-scoring affair, Crusader goalie Hannah Dickson came up with 10 clutch saves to halt the Blue Devils as they attempted to run up the score. The final score tells a much different story than the way the Crusaders played: holding their own against the #3 team in the country and refusing to go down without a fight. While it may seem like a crushing defeat, the Crusaders' kept their heads up and are 'onto-the-next' as they continue to fight for a spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference Tournament with only three regular season games remaining.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Dyson scored two goals and caused one turnover.
• Hoeland scored one goal and had one assist.
• Dickson had 10 saves and caused one turnover.
• LTU won 20-of-28 draw controls.

UP NEXT

The Crusaders will attempt to get back on track in conference play as they return home for Senior Day / Alumni Day as they take on the Concordia University Ann Arbor Cardinals (1-9, 0-5) at 12:00 pm on Saturday, April 8th. 

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