Texas A&M women’s lacrosse surpassed LSU in front of a solid home crowd, despite 11 mph winds at Penberthy Fields and A&M’s Big Event, which caused traffic disruptions leading up to the match on Saturday, March 22.
A&M lacrosse fans continued to arrive throughout all four quarters of the match as the Aggies gladly welcomed the Tigers to town after beating LSU 20-3 in 2024. With an 8-1 record, the Maroon and White’s only loss came in non-conference play against Oregon, and they came into Saturday’s match fresh off an 18-14 win over 5-2 Baylor.
After winning the 2024 Texas Women’s Lacrosse League Division I Championship, the Aggies advanced to the 2024 Women’s Collegiate Lacrosse Associate nationals competition for the first time since 2017 to place 15th.
On Saturday, the score was tied 5-5 toward the end of the first quarter until the Aggies took the lead in the final minute to go up 6-5 over the Tigers.
Now in his third season, coach Cliff Dorsey has focused on tactics, specifically improving the team’s high-pressure defense strategy. Despite a rough first quarter, Dorsey was satisfied with the team’s solid play in the final three quarters of the game.
“We were going to work hard on our offensive execution,” Dorsey said. “Our defense started out a little bit slow, but once we got kicked in, [we] played our game.”
The highest scorer with three points in the match, education sophomore attacker Kamerina Sauceda noted it was the team’s chemistry that played a key part in the victory.
“The beginning of the game was a little rough,” Sauceda said. “We need to calm down and focus on our game.”
Team captain biomedical sciences graduate Elizabeth Ohnesorge added that with A&M’s spring break the week prior, getting the team back into their rhythm with only three practices was quite challenging.
“Started off a little slow,” Ohnesorge said. “I think we just had not played in a while, but then we picked up and started playing our usual game.”
Responsible for a total of five saves, engineering freshman goalie Amaria Smith said her strategy going into the game — to keep a level head whatever happened — paid off as LSU managed to only score three more times after their five goals in the first quarter.
“I don’t let my body language or anything transfer to the team,” Smith said.
By the end of the match, twelve different Aggies scored, with six goals in the second quarter, seven in the third quarter and six in the fourth quarter to cap off a dominant 25-8 win.
A&M will host their final home conference game on March 29 against 5-0 TCU. Admission is free at Penberthy Fields. Follow @tamuwlax on Instagram for cancellations and updates on the playing field.
