Bison Edge Anderson in Snow-Influenced Match
March 31, 2019
In a match that could have been cancelled due to snow accumulation, the Anderson University women's lacrosse team battled with Bethany College (W. Va.) in a showdown that resulted in an 11-9 victory for Bethany on Sunday at Macholtz Stadium.
The match, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., did not start until 3:30 p.m. to allow time to clear the two inches of snow that covered the field Saturday night. Although many teams would have cancelled the match, Anderson and Bethany refused to let that happen.
"What I love about lacrosse is the players' desire to play it," Coach Colin McSharar said. "The weather threw us a curve ball and dumped two inches of snow in the field late [Saturday] night. The officiating crew and their assignor all encouraged to cancel today because of the snow on the field. Most other sports would have cancelled the game. But not us. Not this sport. Not these two first-year programs."
Several members of the Anderson staff assisted in shoveling and plowing the field prior to the match. The Anderson and Bethany players did not have shovels to clear the field, so they found creative ways to remove the snow, ranging from using their sticks as shovels to rolling giant snowballs to clear the snow.
"Every player and coach used a shovel or his/her own stick to remove the snow from the field. I've never seen desire like that in all my years in sports.
"I want to give a huge shout out to a few players of the Anderson men's lacrosse team and Coach Jacob Ashton for their help in shoveling the field. I also want to thank The Grounds crew for letting us borrow a plow and an employee to drive it. Lastly, shout out to Marcie Taylor, Coach Jennifer Myhre, and some fans for also helping us shovel the field. All of you made [Sunday] possible. And for that, I am forever grateful."
During the match, Kiaha Nichols (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) saw 22 shots and racked up 11 saves for the Ravens (0-4).
Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) led the Ravens with five points, providing four goals and an assist. Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) and Nadia Bentley (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) netted two goals apiece. Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) also produced a goal.
Emily Albert (New Albany, Ind./Christian Academy of Indiana) collected a team-high six ground balls. Huber totaled five ground balls and five draw controls. Housman picked up four ground balls while Lawson and Houseman each secured four draw controls. Kerrigan Howard (Indianapolis, Ind./Ballard (Ky.)) caused two turnovers.
Lindsey Cornish paced Bethany (2-6) with three goals. Dearra Harrison, Rikiah Wise and Cassidy Mailloux notched two goals apiece. Mia Colon and Ayana Crawford also delivered goals. Alyssa Hill dished out an assist.
Cornish earned six ground balls and created five turnovers. Mailloux captured five ground balls and four draw controls. Wise also caused four turnovers.
Trinity Dixon saved 13 of the 22 shots she faced for Bethany.
The match was heavily-influenced by free-position attempts and included a combined seven free-position goals. Huber contributed two free-position goals for Anderson. The Ravens seized having 15 fewer fouls than the Bison with an 11-8 advantage in free-position shots.
The Ravens outshot the Bison 35-30 and both teams finished with 22 shots on goal apiece.
Anderson topped Bethany in draw controls by a 13-9 margin.
Despite playing with one less player, the Ravens remained within striking distance of the Bison.
"Being down a player is always tough in a close game like [Sunday], but we stepped up and led five important stat categories including draw controls and fouls. We should return CJ Pinyot (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian) this week, which will give us even numbers and will add a lot of firepower to our offense."
Bethany capitalized on the one-player advantage on defense as the Ravens committed 32 turnovers in comparison to the Bison's 25 turnovers. The Bison also held a 15-5 advantage in caused turnovers.
Bethany edged Anderson 23-22 in ground balls.
The Bison cleared 18-of-24 (75 percent) attempts while the Ravens finished 16-of-25 (64 percent) clears.
Both teams played a tight match for the opening 20 minutes as they kept within a goal of each other. Huber recorded three points on two goals and an assist in the opening 16 minutes as Anderson held a 3-2 lead with 14 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half. Bethany closed out the first half with four unanswered goals, including two from Wise, to enter halftime with a 6-3 lead.
To start the second half, Huber contributed a pair of goals and then Bentley delivered a pair of goals to give Anderson a 7-6 with 24:45 left in the second half.
The two teams did not waste time in building the score early in the second half. It took 25 seconds for Mailloux to capitalize off a pass from Hill to even the score at 7-all. After another 25 seconds, Houseman scored to regain the lead for Anderson. Harrison only needed 17 seconds to tie the match back up at 8-all. After 1:07, Houseman found the back of the net again to put the Ravens ahead 9-8 with 22:35 remaining.
The tempo slowed as Bethany outscored Anderson 3-0 for the remainder of the match with all goals coming from Cornish.
Anderson begins Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) by hosting two conference matches at Macholtz Stadium next week. The Ravens take on Transylvania University (7-3, 0-0) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Anderson then clashes with Earlham College (7-4, 1-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"We start conference play on Tuesday. A lot of teams who have been up in years past are a little down this year and a lot of basement teams are playing well. This fight for the conference playoffs is going to be tight, but a lot of fun to watch. I can't wait to get back on the field and work."
The match, originally scheduled for 1 p.m., did not start until 3:30 p.m. to allow time to clear the two inches of snow that covered the field Saturday night. Although many teams would have cancelled the match, Anderson and Bethany refused to let that happen.
"What I love about lacrosse is the players' desire to play it," Coach Colin McSharar said. "The weather threw us a curve ball and dumped two inches of snow in the field late [Saturday] night. The officiating crew and their assignor all encouraged to cancel today because of the snow on the field. Most other sports would have cancelled the game. But not us. Not this sport. Not these two first-year programs."
Several members of the Anderson staff assisted in shoveling and plowing the field prior to the match. The Anderson and Bethany players did not have shovels to clear the field, so they found creative ways to remove the snow, ranging from using their sticks as shovels to rolling giant snowballs to clear the snow.
"Every player and coach used a shovel or his/her own stick to remove the snow from the field. I've never seen desire like that in all my years in sports.
"I want to give a huge shout out to a few players of the Anderson men's lacrosse team and Coach Jacob Ashton for their help in shoveling the field. I also want to thank The Grounds crew for letting us borrow a plow and an employee to drive it. Lastly, shout out to Marcie Taylor, Coach Jennifer Myhre, and some fans for also helping us shovel the field. All of you made [Sunday] possible. And for that, I am forever grateful."
During the match, Kiaha Nichols (Shipshewana, Ind./Westview) saw 22 shots and racked up 11 saves for the Ravens (0-4).
Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) led the Ravens with five points, providing four goals and an assist. Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) and Nadia Bentley (Cincinnati, Ohio/McNicholas) netted two goals apiece. Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) also produced a goal.
Emily Albert (New Albany, Ind./Christian Academy of Indiana) collected a team-high six ground balls. Huber totaled five ground balls and five draw controls. Housman picked up four ground balls while Lawson and Houseman each secured four draw controls. Kerrigan Howard (Indianapolis, Ind./Ballard (Ky.)) caused two turnovers.
Lindsey Cornish paced Bethany (2-6) with three goals. Dearra Harrison, Rikiah Wise and Cassidy Mailloux notched two goals apiece. Mia Colon and Ayana Crawford also delivered goals. Alyssa Hill dished out an assist.
Cornish earned six ground balls and created five turnovers. Mailloux captured five ground balls and four draw controls. Wise also caused four turnovers.
Trinity Dixon saved 13 of the 22 shots she faced for Bethany.
The match was heavily-influenced by free-position attempts and included a combined seven free-position goals. Huber contributed two free-position goals for Anderson. The Ravens seized having 15 fewer fouls than the Bison with an 11-8 advantage in free-position shots.
The Ravens outshot the Bison 35-30 and both teams finished with 22 shots on goal apiece.
Anderson topped Bethany in draw controls by a 13-9 margin.
Despite playing with one less player, the Ravens remained within striking distance of the Bison.
"Being down a player is always tough in a close game like [Sunday], but we stepped up and led five important stat categories including draw controls and fouls. We should return CJ Pinyot (Indianapolis, Ind./Heritage Christian) this week, which will give us even numbers and will add a lot of firepower to our offense."
Bethany capitalized on the one-player advantage on defense as the Ravens committed 32 turnovers in comparison to the Bison's 25 turnovers. The Bison also held a 15-5 advantage in caused turnovers.
Bethany edged Anderson 23-22 in ground balls.
The Bison cleared 18-of-24 (75 percent) attempts while the Ravens finished 16-of-25 (64 percent) clears.
Both teams played a tight match for the opening 20 minutes as they kept within a goal of each other. Huber recorded three points on two goals and an assist in the opening 16 minutes as Anderson held a 3-2 lead with 14 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half. Bethany closed out the first half with four unanswered goals, including two from Wise, to enter halftime with a 6-3 lead.
To start the second half, Huber contributed a pair of goals and then Bentley delivered a pair of goals to give Anderson a 7-6 with 24:45 left in the second half.
The two teams did not waste time in building the score early in the second half. It took 25 seconds for Mailloux to capitalize off a pass from Hill to even the score at 7-all. After another 25 seconds, Houseman scored to regain the lead for Anderson. Harrison only needed 17 seconds to tie the match back up at 8-all. After 1:07, Houseman found the back of the net again to put the Ravens ahead 9-8 with 22:35 remaining.
The tempo slowed as Bethany outscored Anderson 3-0 for the remainder of the match with all goals coming from Cornish.
Anderson begins Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Conference (HCLC) by hosting two conference matches at Macholtz Stadium next week. The Ravens take on Transylvania University (7-3, 0-0) on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Anderson then clashes with Earlham College (7-4, 1-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
"We start conference play on Tuesday. A lot of teams who have been up in years past are a little down this year and a lot of basement teams are playing well. This fight for the conference playoffs is going to be tight, but a lot of fun to watch. I can't wait to get back on the field and work."
