Women's lacrosse wins decisive victory against Duquesne

University of Richmond women’s lacrosse team dominated the Duquesne Dukes, winning their first Atlantic 10 Conference game of the season, 20-4, on March 31.

The Spiders were up 13-3 at halftime and continued to gain possession throughout the second half to contribute to their success later in the afternoon. Third-year Caroline Queally had seven draw control wins to dictate the pace of the game.

The Dukes tried to gain some momentum by taking a timeout halfway through the first half, but the Spiders came back and scored another goal. The Spiders kept the Dukes to only one goal scored in the second half.

Fourth-year attacker Natalia Chaney had a great showing, leading the team by scoring five goals. First-year goalie Megan Gianforte had five saves in goal, and first-year midfielder Allie Geiger had her first career goal in the final minutes of the game.

Chaney was excited about playing after beating William and Mary, 12-8, on March 25.

“It definitely sparked our confidence, and it was such a big win because we came back," Chaney said. "We haven’t beaten them since my freshman year, so that definitely had a huge part in how pumped we were to play today."

Head coach Allison Kwolek also said that she felt the game against William and Mary brought the team together.

“I thought, if we finish the game against William and Mary really strong and really connected, and I think having that momentum to carry into our conference play was great,” Kwolek said.

Fourth-year captain and defender Leslie Espenschied said that she was looking forward to the rest of the season and the competition.

“This is a big win. This is a big team for us. We lost in regular season last year, so I think we're just looking forward to turning around our A-10 play and showing up and crushing everything,” said Espenschied.

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