GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's lacrosse team hosted the Warriors of Indiana Tech for its first home game of the 2024 season.
After today's game the Knights moved to 3-4 overall while Indiana Tech improved to 4-2.
Both teams came out hot in the first quarter with Indiana Tech striking first with a goal just one minute into play. However, the Knights responded quickly three minutes later when Audrey Booher (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian) found Jacey Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) who sent the ball past the Warrior goalkeeper. Indiana Tech netted another goal before Kelly Ruha (New Hope, Minn./Robbinsville Armstrong) scored for Calvin to once again tie things up. Two minutes later Indiana Tech went on a 3-0 scoring run until it was broken up by a goal from Lainey Aldridge (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North). The Warrior snuck in one more goal before ending the quarter with a 6-3 lead.
In the second quarter the Warriors kept their foot on the gas as they added two more goals to their total. Ruha and Booher both scored during the period but another goal from Indiana Tech just before the half gave them the 9-5 advantage.
The Knights outscored the Warriors in the third quarter as Booher netted two more goals while Meghan Chang (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) also got onto the scoring sheet. However, Indiana Tech continued to swarm the Knights defense as they scored three unanswered goals to start the fourth quarter. The Knights attempted to close the gap as Aldridge, Ruha, and Booher led a late game surge but ultimately it was not enough as Calvin fell to the Warriors 17-12.
Calvin outshot the Warriors during the match 34-30 while also forcing them to make 18 turnovers. Calvin was successful on 13-15 clears however, Indiana Tech picked up 19 ground balls compared to the Knights 16.
Booher and Ruha each finished with four goals while Aldridge finished with two. On defense, freshman goalkeeper Margee Boelema (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) picked up four ground balls and recorded ten saves.
COACHES COMMENT: "I'm proud of our effort tonight," said head coach Blake Boehm. "We're learning more about ourselves as we get deeper into the season. There are things we will change moving forward, but we're progressing. Looking forward to practice tomorrow and then getting back to it with Baldwin-Wallace on Saturday."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, March 16th when they welcome the Yellowjackets of Baldwin-Wallace for a 1 p.m. matchup at Zuidema Field.
