By Taylor Nigrelli
Staff Writer
The lacrosse team (3-5) has a busy weekend, as it takes on Atlantic 10 opponent Saint Joseph’s (4-9, 0-3) in Philadelphia today at 3:30 p.m. before traveling to Amherst, Mass., to take on the Massachusetts Minutewomen (12-1, 3-0) Sunday at noon.
The Bonnies must win both of these games and all other league games to have a chance at making the A-10 Championship. Coach Ryan Lynn said the team isn’t focused on the playoffs, but on improvement.
“We’re not as focused on the playoffs as much as making sure when we walk off the field we’re better than when we walked on it,” Lynn said.
The team’s next chance at improvement will come against a St. Joe’s team winless in A- 10 play. However, Lynn said he isn’t taking the Hawks lightly.
“They’re a closer caliber to us,” Lynn said. “They’ve played some pretty competitive games and have really given teams a battle; we need to go in mentally prepared.”
Sunday’s match up against UMass will likely be more of a challenge, as the Minutewomen are currently ranked No. 16 in the NCAA poll. Lynn said he knows the Bonnies will need to play better than they have so far if they want to compete with UMass.
“They’re the highest caliber in the A-10,” Lynn said. “We need to put our best game to date out there, commit fewer turnovers and limit our mistakes.”
The Bonnies might be helped out from the momentum of snapping their five-game losing streak by beating Bucknell, 15-13, Tuesday. The offense had its best game in a month, as nine different players scored, led by senior midfielder Daisy Timlin’s three goals. According to Lynn, this was much more significant than the average win.
“We learned how to win,” Lynn said. “The game could have gone either way in the last 10 minutes, but we found a way to win.”
The team hopes to use this momentum to play better in its remaining five games of the regular season. Timlin said she hopes to use this win as an example for future games.
“In order to keep this momentum going forward, we just have to mentally focus in and dig deep,” Timlin said. “We have some games coming up that are going to be tough but are up for grabs. If we come out fighting from the first minute we step on the field, we will be able to keep this streak going.”
If the Bonnies win out, there is still no guarantee they would be in the playoffs. However, Lynn has longer-term goals for the team.
“We want to continue to grow as a team,” Lynn said. “We need to establish what we want our base to be and the culture we’d like to have as a program.”
nigreltn11@bonaventure.edu
