With the Bethlehem varsity girls lacrosse team looking on, two Lady Eagle alumni put on a show at the University at Albany Wednesday.
Katie Rowan had four goals and four assists, and Halley Quillinan added five goals to help the Syracuse University women’s lacrosse team fend off a stubborn UAlbany squad 21-11.
It’s fun to come home and play here, said Quillinan, who is one of Syracuse’s leading goal scorers. `We never played here in college before.`
Rowan and Quillinan saw some familiar faces on the opposite side of the field. Three Bethlehem graduates — Tee Ladouceur, Tricia Primomo and Mackenzie Riegel — played siginificant roles for UAlbany. Ladouceur finished with a hat trick, while Primomo and Riegel aided the defensive effort.
`It’s fun because they’re great players,` said Primomo. `It was a lot like high school, but they picked up a few new things since then.`
Bethlehem girls lacrosse coach Dawn Austin brought several members of her varsity team to UAlbany following practice so they could watch the game.
`I think it’s really fun to watch six Bethlehem alumni play at once at the Division I level,` said Austin. `It’s exciting to see any alumni excel at the collegiate level, no matter who they play for.`
Rowan and Quillinan got things going early for the visiting Orange (9-2). Rowan scored 15 seconds into the game, and Quillinan added her first goal a short time later to give Syracuse a 3-0 lead.
UAlbany wasn’t about to let Syracuse run away with the game, though, and Guilderland High School graduate Kayla Best made sure of that. Best tallied twice during a 5-1 Great Danes’ run that gave the home team a 5-4 lead against the No. 5 ranked Orange.
`Albany came out, and they were scrappy,` said Syracuse coach Gary Gait. `They were tough, and they went hard to the net.`
Syracuse recovered from that lapse and regained the lead midway through the first half. From there, the game evolved into a pattern where the Orange would build a three-goal advantage, only to see UAlbany trim it to one goal.
That pattern ended midway through the second half when Syracuse went on an 8-0 run. Rowan and Quillinan played a major role in that burst, as each scored twice.
`I think we knew (at that point) that we had to step up and take charge,` said Rowan, Syracuse’s leading scorer.
Best led UAlbany (7-4) with four goals.“
