Eagles knock off defending champs, Start season 5-0
Staff
The Concordia Women's Lacrosse team went into the weekend unproven and left with a 5-0 record, including a down to the wire win over the defending WCLA D2 National Champion Denver Pioneers.
The Pioneers came out swinging and struck first with a goal at the 27 minute mark in the first period. This was the first time the Eagles had been beaten to the punch and was also the first time they had trailed all season. The Eagles answered right back though, as Victoria Peleras finished an 8m goal to tie things up. The Eagles would strike again just minutes later on a drive and finish by Alexandra Kyte. The Eagles traded blows with the Pios for the remainder of the half with Pelaras and Siluano getting in on the scoring action. An incredible back and forth half came to a close tied at 4-4.
The second half started in disastrous fashion for the Eagles, as just minutes into the period, a yellow card on Victoria Peleras led to two straight Denver goals. Instead of letting this run break them, the Eagles hunkered down and reeled off 4 straight goals, including a sweet finish by Samantha Leyesa and a scrappy on the run drive by Celine Rios at the 8:42 mark to put the Eagles up by 2.
After an entertaining final five minutes of play that saw Denver close the gap to 1 goal, the game would come down to one final Denver attack on goal. The pioneers called timeout with 15 seconds left with the Eagles clinging to a slim one goal advantage. "In the final timeout of the game we talked about executing what we practiced and enjoying the moment. The girls were locked in and they earned the result they got today," said Coach Brent. True to form, the Eagle defense slammed the door shut one last time with Grace Tom denying a doorstep opportunity for the final of her 13 saves on the day. When the dust settled and the final whistle sounded, it was an 8-7 Eagle victory.
With the win, the Eagles improve to 5-0 for the first time in program history. This is also the Eagles first win over a #1 ranked team and the first win over the Denver Pioneers in three tries.
Up Next:
The road doesn't get any easier for the Eagles as they open WWLL South Conference play on Saturday 2/25 at home against UCSD. The Tritons are coming off an upset victory over conference rival Cal State San Marcos. Game time is at 11:00am.
