CC lacrosse ends season with victory over Sewanee

While the trees start to bloom and summer fervor hits CC’s campus, so too do our spring sports come to a close. The girls’ lacrosse team finished their season on this end-of-the-year, bittersweet note, beating Sewanee: The University of the South on April 2 with a score of 18-11. The CC women notched up their season record to 8-5 while pulling Sewanee to 13-4. The game brought its own set of closures for the team, with senior Maggie Defanti lending a hat-trick to her last game at Colorado College. Seven other seniors also made their final appearance on the lacrosse field, closing their season and senior years with an 18-point victory, the highest total for the team’s season.

Although Carly Grimm of Sewanee scored the first goal of the game, the Tigers countered with four goals of their own to post an early 4-1 victory in the first half. Home-field advantage and the added pressure of the final season game seemed to lend a sense of urgency and passion to the already-talented team, especially prominent among those 8 members of the senior class. The future graduates combined to give CC seven goals and six assists. Along with Defanti, senior Marissa McGrann added a team-high three assists while seniors Holly McHugh, Scarlett Prati and Valerie Cranmer also scored to add to the impressive offensive performance of the Tigers. Defense was not lacking either, with both Defanti and McGrann each causing three Sewanee turnovers and three groundballs. “I think it was just that we all really wanted to play for each other,” Defanti said on the senior class’ notable performance.

Sewanee gave the CC women a close run late in the first half and early into the second before CC pulled away later on in the game. Meg Welton of Sewanee led her team in goals and an assist, yet her three-goal strike could not keep The University of the South up for long, only holding a three-goal lead for less than four minutes into the second half. 

Instead, the CC women managed to turn their own 8-5 deficit into an 11-goal streak beginning with Claire Draudt’s goal midway in the second half. Draudt’s offensive spark came just before a lightning delay lasting 46 minutes and inclement weather which remained for the remainder of the game. It did not seem to affect the Tigers’ play however, as Prati and Grace Maloney each scored within a minute of the game resuming. It was only after Draudt tallied her second goal that the 11-0 streak ended with Sewanee’s two goals by Molly Arnold, their only offensive gain in over 11 minutes of play since the game resumed. 

Sewanee’s attempted-rally failed to bring the score of the game any closer, with the southern university coming up short seven goals at the blow of the final whistle. The ending of the game brought victory to the CC team as well the culmination of the senior girls’ seasons. The incredible athletic capabilities housed within the senior class will surely be missed, even while the team continues to grow and gain fresh talent. Daudt commented on this observation, saying the seniors “are all really strong players and they bring a lot to the team, but we have a really strong freshman class too. It’s going to be an interesting season next year.” 

Defanti added her own senior perspective on the game and the season, saying “we had our ups and downs, but when we had our ups, we just remembered how much we loved the game, and I think that’s what it’s really all about. The team has an incredible freshman class and they have a lot of potential.” Defanti’s season, as well as the other seniors’ might be over, but come next spring, the girls’ lacrosse team will not be down and out.