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College women's lacrosse: St. Lawrence feeds on coach's enthusiasm to outlast Clarkson

cap carey, watertown daily times, n.y.
·4 min read

Apr. 21—POTSDAM — Clarkson pushed the St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team, but the Saints continued a remarkable first season under coach Chelsea Martin with an 18-16 victory in a Liberty League game Wednesday afternoon at Hantz Field.

Martin, an Ogdensburg native and former national champion at SUNY Cortland, has brought enthusiasm to the 15th-ranked Saints, who improved to 13-1 overall and 7-1 in the Liberty League with the victory.

Before the opening draw, Martin clapped repeatedly, then as soon as Clarkson won possession and headed toward the Saints net, Martin sprinted down the sideline to watch the action.

She kept the pace up throughout the game, clapping about 80 percent of the time, leaping in the air after good plays, shouting encouragement to her players, as well as critiques of the officiating.

"I think certainly they had it in them all along, they just needed to believe in themselves and I believe in them, and that's why I act like a crazy person," Martin said. "I'm just so proud of them and the way they are playing and the heart and hustle they are showing. I hope they know I believe in them and they believe in themselves, because of that. I'm just happy to be where I am. I feel really lucky, it's just a great group."

Clarkson (9-4, 4-4) is also led by a former SUNY Cortland national champion, coach Ben Gaebel, a Carthage native.

"She does a great job, being a fellow Red Dragon as well," Gaebel said of Martin. "I think it's going to be a really good (rivalry). Everyone knows about the hockey rivalry, but in every sport it's a big thing. For our girls its a big rivalry as well. I'm looking forward to future games."

The Golden Knights gave the Saints problems for much of the game, trailing just 7-6 at halftime.

Clarkson tied the game 7-7 early in the second half off a goal from Watertown native Julia Lavarnway.

The Saints responded with a five-goal run that turned out to be the difference in the game, as Clarkson cut into the 12-7 lead but never got within one goal the rest of the way.

The goals in SLU's run came from five different scorers — Rachel Burke, Callie O'Neil, Isabel Silvia, Neve Ley and Charlotte Powell.

"We worked as a unit, I'm so proud of everyone on the field," O'Neil said. "It was a tough game, for sure, but we came out on top and I can't ask for much more from everyone. The (five-goal run) was huge. I'm so proud of our team for, throughout the season, being a second-half team."

One area that presented a challenge to Clarkson and to all of SLU's opponents is the Saints' offensive depth with three players with more than 30 goals and another with 25.

"They are a pretty powerful offense," Gaebel said. "We knew there was going to be some runs and we'd have some runs as well. I thought our girls played really well today."

Silvia and Powell each led the Saints with four goals. Burke scored three and O'Neil added two goals and two assists.

Silvia and O'Neil, both seniors, played on a 4-12 team as freshmen, missed almost all of their sophomore season to COVID-19 and played only eight games last year, also due to COVID-19.

They are enjoying their senior year with their new, enthusiastic coach.

"It's been super rewarding for our senior class to see the transition in the program," Silvia said. "It makes us proud to see how far our program has come since our freshman year. It's been amazing to be a part of it."

Madelyn Barnum and Mia Petrone both scored four goals for Clarkson, and Lavarnway and Hailey Millington each scored three.

SUNY CANTON 20, CAZENOVIA 10

Maddy Caron produced seven goals as SUNY Canton (8-6, 5-0) defeated host Cazenovia in an NAC game.

ElleRose Le May scored four goals and Casey Pelton added three for SUNY Canton.

Sydney Allan scored four goals for Cazenovia (5-5, 3-1).

SUNY PLATTSBURGH 16, SUNY POTSDAM 13

Caroline Noia and Jordan Kowalski both scored four goals to lead SUNY Plattsburgh (4-7, 2-4) in a SUNYAC game in Potsdam.

Anita Reitano recorded three goals and two assists for the Bears (6-7, 1-5).

SOFTBALL

RENSSELAER 2-6, CLARKSON 0-2

The Engineers (18-14, 5-3) held the Golden Knights to five total hits while sweeping a Liberty League doubleheader in Troy.

Erika Holowka threw a one-hit shutout in the opener and struck out 10. Alexis Cook struck out eight in game two.

Olivia Zoeller went 2-for-3 for Clarkson (11-12, 2-5) in game two.