PITTSBURGH, Pa. (March 4) – The Waynesburg University women's lacrosse team opened the 2022 season on Friday at La Roche. The Yellow Jackets stuck right with the Redhawks for the first quarter, but couldn't keep up as the game went on and La Roche pulled away for a 22-9 win.
 
Waynesburg (0-1) got off to a hot start by scoring the first three goals of the contest, the first two of which came from first-year junior Tori Meiklejohn (Boonsboro, Md. / Boonsboro). Junior Eve O'Sullivan (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) upped the Jacket lead to 3-0 with 6:29 remaining in the first quarter. Junior Rachel Caldwell (Ligonier, Pa. / Ligonier Valley) helped out with the hot start by assisting on goals one and three on the day.
 
After La Roche (1-3) got on the board with 4:32 left to play in the quarter, Waynesburg rebuilt its three-point lead (4-1) with O'Sullivan's second goal of the day. Meiklejohn picked up her first collegiate assist on the score.
 
The Redhawks scored the final two goals of the quarter to cut their deficit to 4-3, before tying the game with the first tally of the second. O'Sullivan struck back with the next two tallies to make the score 6-4 Waynesburg with 13 minutes remaining in the half. Caldwell notched her third assist on O'Sullivan's third goal of the day.
 
Unfortunately, momentum took a big swing in La Roche's favor following that score, as the home team buried the final six goals of the first half to take a 10-6 advantage into the break. The Hawks kept things rolling in the third quarter, and increased their lead to 14-6 with 8:32 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Meiklejohn finally broke up the long La Roche run with her fourth of the contest to make the score 14-7. La Roche responded with the next three scores, before Meiklejohn and O'Sullivan logged back-to-back unassisted goals to make the score 17-9.
 
La Roche sealed up the win by posting the final five goals of the game.
 
Freshman Anna Bradley (Bridgeville, Pa. / South Fayette) worked the complete game between the pipes and made 16 saves in her collegiate debut.
 
The Jackets are off until Monday, March 14, when they face off with fellow President' Athletic Conference (PAC) member Saint Vincent in a non-league matchup. Start time is scheduled for 4 p.m.