BUCKHANNON — The West Virginia Wesleyan lacrosse team dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 10-6 loss to Malone University on a snowy Cebe Ross Field, Saturday.
Highlighting the game again this week was the large number of penalties that throttled the game at times. A total of 14 cards were issued, 11 of them against Wesleyan. Last week against Lake Eerie College, 17 cards were shown by the officials, including 12 against the Lady Bobcats.
For Malone, this was its very first NCAA Division II women’s lacrosse game in school history.
The first quarter looked promising for both sides. Malone’s top scorer, and the player who will be recorded as the first women’s lacrosse goal-scorer ever was Abbey Burns who made both of the Pioneers first two points, one at 10:10, unassisted, and one at 6:00, assisted by Jorjia Meza.
But Wesleyan would make it interesting before the close of the period with a free position shot to goal by Kaitlyn Canby at 2:26.
Wesleyan would not score again until the third quarter but three goals came in rapid succession. Malone was up 6-1 when Talia Berardo scored twice in just over a minute. Berardo scooped the ball in a scramble 10 meters out and rifled a shot home at 9:58, then on a free position try she added a second goal at 8:52. Makenzi Lewellyn made it a triple play just 42 seconds later on a free position success to pull the ‘Cats within two at 6-4.
But Wesleyan would not find the back of the net again until late in the game. In the meantime, Malone picked up four more goals, two of them by the game’s leading scorer Burns who recorded five goals in total. Wesleyan got its fifth goal with 6:45 left on the clock by Lewellyn and Berardo notched her third goal of the game (and sixth of the young season) with just 17 ticks remaining.
Wesleyan hosts its third game of the year Saturday, Mar. 2 when it welcomes Emory & Henry College for a 3 p.m. start.
