WASHINGTON, DC (May 3, 2023) – The 2023 season came to a close for Susquehanna women's lacrosse on Wednesday afternoon, as the River Hawks traveled to face #1 seed Catholic in the Landmark Conference semifinals, falling 21-4 against the hosting Cardinals.
The Cardinals entered the game after a 7-0 Landmark campaign and lived up to that record from the opening whistle. After forcing back-to-back SU turnovers, Catholic would net for the first time at the 13:47 mark in the 1st period, the first of five unanswered goals and eight total in the period. SU would net their first at the 8:15 mark through a solo effort from Emma Kelleher, then scoring their second after two more Catholic goals, this time with Heather Riefenhauser scoring on a Kelsey Homberg assist.
After the quarter ended with the score 8-2 in Catholic's favor, it would remain there for nearly five minutes into the second, SU trying to stifle the potent attack while seeking a route back into the game. However, the Cardinals eventually broke through in a big way, unleashing a run of seven goals in the second quarter while SU could not find a way through on the other end, seeing Catholic take a 15-2 advantage into halftime.
The third period was more of the same, as Catholic scored five while stymying any potential comeback efforts from Susquehanna, keeping them scoreless for a second consecutive frame. With the result well in hand, Catholic scored just once in the fourth, while SU tallied the final two goals of the game courtesy of solo efforts from Madi Mitchell and Allie Kutler.
While ultimately taking the loss, senior goalie Emmy Regan produced a valiant effort, making six saves to reach the career milestone of 300 saves in her final game. First-year Aerin O'Brien would also do some rotational work, adding eight saves of her own to help stem the tide of 35 shots on goal for Catholic.
Susquehanna finishes the year 9-9 overall and produced a 3-4 Landmark record to earn fourth place and return to the playoffs after missing out last season. With Regan as the only senior on the roster, the River Hawks will look forward to returning nearly the entirety of their squad and building on their efforts from this season.
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--RIVER HAWKS--
