First, let me say Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to one and all – since everyone is Irish on this day, whether they like it or not!

Okay, on to Lacrosse. We were off the day after our one goal win over Georgian Court last Sunday, and I surprised myself by successfully installing our new microwave oven.

Okay now on to Lacrosse, really. We practiced in the mornings this week, since there were no classes, due to spring break. Both days of practice were good, but not great. We watched film as a team on Tuesday as well, in preparation for our next opponent, Holy Family, down in Philadelphia on Thursday (yesterday). I am always leery of being over confident, especially for away games that involve same day travel, which often has a negative effect on a team. But, yesterday morning I was excited to begin the next leg of our journey.

By the time we arrived on the Holy Family campus, it was sunny and 55 degrees, almost spring like. Warm ups were nothing spectacular, but by game time I thought we had pretty good energy, and the Lady Lions started quickly, netting the first three goals. But, Holy Family answered with three goals of their own, as we seemed unable to maintain our level of intensity. But by the end of the first half the Lions had opened a 13 – 8 lead. Despite the lead, I don’t think anyone was happy with the first half performance, especially surrendering 8 goals.

The second half was a different story. We cleaned up our game, cutting down on the number of turnovers and 8 meter free positions awarded to Holy Family. We played better in all facets of the game and opened up a 19 – 9 lead. They did not get their first goal of the second half until 9:33 left in the final quarter! The final score was 21 -11. Though it was not a great sixty minutes, it was a much better feeling to be finishing a game strong, than to be hanging on like we were in our previous game. We had nine different players score goals, committed a total of 12 turnovers (we are improving) and held a pretty good offensive team, to 3 goals in the second half.

Our food was delivered to the field and after a quick change of clothes we were back on the bus, eating lunch and heading for home. As we travelled, I analyzed the game and the season, thus far. Overall, I was happy. We had just beaten a skilled offensive team on their home turf and though it certainly was not perfect, I feel it was an improved performance (especially the second half). As for this early part of our season, we have played very well at times, especially against strong competition. We have also played poorly at times, especially against weaker opponents. I think we have made some good strides toward becoming the kind of team we are capable of being, though we must continue to improve and build upon the progress we have made, if we are to attain our goals.

We begin Conference play tomorrow at Saint Thomas Aquinas!

Now it’s time for Corned Beef and Cabbage!