By JOEL COOPER

The Cornell womens lacrosse team bounced back from a tough weekend against the University of Albany, beating local rivals Colgate, 11-5, Wednesday evening. The Red (2-1) was coming off the back of a close result against Albany last Saturday, where a last minute goal for the Great Danes gave Albany the 12-11 victory.

Such a close loss was understandably a disappointment for Cornell who, according to sophomore midfielder Amie Dickson, lacked intensity and aggression in the second half, allowing Albany back in the game. However, the Red was determined to step up its game and make the changes needed to bring home the win against Colgate.

We were not happy about our loss against Albany, especially with the lack of energy in the second half, but it fired us up to come out strong against Colgate for our first win on Schoellkopf, Dickson said. We really wanted to play a full 60 minutes with the same amount of effort from the start to the end of the game.

Cornell showed its intensity from the start against Colgate who, after attacking the Reds goal for over six minutes, was stripped of possession and quickly brought down to its defensive end of the field. Cornell then got on the scoreboard after senior attacker Lindsay Toppe notched a Red goal. Colgate continued to pose a threat in the first half, winning four draw controls, however, the Raiders were no match for a powerful Cornell defense.

After Colgate eventually broke through to level the score, the Reds attack got back into action, scoring four in a row to build a commanding lead, after having 12 shots on goal in the first half compared to Colgates 3.

At halftime, Cornell led, 5-2, and once the break was over it wasted no time, scoring the first two goals of the break. The game then tightened up once more, with the teams trading goals back and forwards until the Red went on the run again, netting three, two from sophomore attacker Catherine Ellis.

Cornells defense continued to play hard, only allowing one goal in the last 21 minutes and getting 10 turnovers for the night. The final score finished, 11-5, to the Red, with Dickson recording a career high six points thanks to three goals and three assists. Toppe finished with two goals and junior attacker Emily Tripodi and Ellis both netted two as well.

According to head coach Jenny Graap, Cornell was able to dominate Colgate a team that had averaged 12 goals per game before its competition against the Red because of its increased intensity and work rate.

Overall, the coaches felt the energy and the effort was consistent over 60 minutes which was a point of emphasis going into the game, Graap said. Our defensive unit was really solid tonight and Dickson really stepped up with four draw controls and six points on the attacking end.

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WOMENS LACROSSE | Red Notches Win Against Colgate Wednesday