The Knights offense was led by Caitlyn Fisher, senior attacker, converting three goals off five shots. Jess Fugate, senior midfielder and winner of Gannon’s athlete of the week, and Natalie Bonnepart, senior defender, both pitched in with two goals respectively.

The Knights conclude their season with a 10-8 record and a 6-5 record in PSAC action. The team will be losing eight seniors to graduation.

“Eight players sounds like a lot to lose, but there is a great legacy behind Gannon lacrosse and it doesn’t stop with this graduating class,” Bonnepart said.

CONNOR SONDEL

sondel001@knights.gannon.edu

Gannon (9-6 overall, 5-4 PSAC) clinched a PSAC tournament berth Tuesday night when Millersville University defeated Shippensburg University.

Shippensburg defeated the Knights 13-8 Saturday on senior day when it scored six of the game’s final eight goals.

It has become almost a yearly occurance for the Knights to play Mercyhurst in a key spot ahead of the playoffs. Last season, Sarah Grzybinski scored a go-ahead goal in the second half befor the Knights narrowly held on for a 14-13 win in the season finale.

The Knights can still finish in fourth, fifth or sixth place depending on how they fare against Mercyhurst Wednesday and Indiana University of Pennsylvania Saturday. A fourth seed brings with it a quarterfinal home game April 30.

Should Gannon win both games and Mercyhurst loses to Lock Haven University Saturday, the Knights would be assured the fourth seed. The Knights have reached the postseason in four straight seasons.

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@knights.gannon.edu

After making quick work of Millersville and Shippensburg universities last week, the Knights have won three games in a row and have clinched a spot in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Coach Lindsey Lowman said she has been impressed with the Knights’ recent production.

“I really think we’re starting to put it together at the right time,” she said. “We’re starting to play our best going into the PSAC tournament, which is what you want to do.”

Gannon is ranked 14th in the most recent Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association top 15 poll. The Knights’ 10 victories represent the eighth time they have tallied double-digit wins in the last eight seasons.

Gannon (10-5 overall, 8-2 PSAC) assured itself of hosting a PSAC quarterfinal match when it demolished Millersville 22-7 Friday.

Friday’s 22 goals tied the Knights’ season-high output that was also accomplished in a 22-8 over Lake Erie College March 16.

Gannon broke open Friday’s match by scoring seven unanswered goals in the first half after Millersville had managed to stay within a couple of goals for much of the first half. The Knights made the game a laugher in the second half when they outscored the Mauraders 8-1.

All told, Gannon outscored Millersville 16-3 in the final 48 minutes. Sophomore midfielder Stevie Lombardoni tallied a career-high five goals while senior Sarah Grzybinski also scored five.

Gannon picked up where it left off Saturday by registering the game’s first six goals and was never threatened by the Red Raiders (7-8, 3-7). Grzybinski continued her hot streak as she led the balanced Gannon attack with five goals while junior Jess Fugate and Lombardoni each chipped in with a pair of scores.

“We’ve actually scored a lot of goals all year, but now we have so many different threats that the other team can’t scout on,” Lowman said.

Currently, the Knights sit in third place in the PSAC behind only ninth-ranked Lock Haven (11-4, 9-1) and No. 8 West Chester (12-2, 8-2). These teams represent Gannon’s only conference losses.

However, the Knights will likely have their hands full once again when they make the short trip east to wrap the regular season against crosstown rival Mercyhurst University 5 p.m. Saturday. The Lakers currently maintain a conference record identical to the Knights and have also won three matches in row.

In last season’s finale, the Knights came out on top against the Lakers, 12-11 in a double-overtime thriller at Gannon University Field.  Fugate scored sent the game into a second overtime when she scored with three seconds left off a Hail Mary pass from Mary Eshenour. Then-junior Rachel DerCola then scored the winning goal in sudden-death.

It is the first Mercyhust game for the first-year Lowman.

“Everybody has definitely made it known that it’s a big game and it’s a do-or-die situation,” she said. “So whether it’s from the rivalry or a playoff standpoint, it’s a must-win game.”

The Knights will host their final regular season game of the year against non-conference Tiffin University 5 p.m. Thursday.  Gannon University Field is also set to host a PSAC tournament’s first round game against an undetermined team 11 a.m. Saturday, May 1.

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@knights.gannon.edu

But after the Gannon University lacrosse team blew past No. 14 Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the second half of Saturday’s 19-13 win, coach Lindsey Lowman can confidently say next year’s Knights will need minimal rebuilding.

“We’re definitely going to lose some strong seniors, who are going to be hard to replace,” Lowman said. “But with the group we have coming back with every player on the attack a double-digit scorer, we’re pretty confident we’ll be competitive for a while.”

On a night in which the Gannon honored five seniors before the start of the game, it was a trio of underclassmen who stole the show Saturday, as sophomore Kimberly Neagle and juniors Natalie Bonnepart and Caitlyn Fisher each tallied five goals.

“Their defense really slid early so we were able to beat them with a lot of off-ball movement and just driving and passing the ball quickly to find the open girl,” said Fisher, whose goals combined with three assists set a career-high with eight points Saturday.

Gannon improved to 8-5 overall and the Knights’ 6-2 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is good enough for third place, behind only No. 9 West Chester and tenth-ranked Lock Haven. The Rams and Bald Eagles represent the Knights’ only defeats in the conference. Gannon dropped its only other game last week to Lock Haven Wednesday, 14-11, when the Bald Eagles ripped off three unanswered goals to break an 8-8 tie midway through the second half.

It appeared the Knights were in jeopardy of dropping their second straight game Saturday when IUP (8-4 overall, 5-3 PSAC) ran out to a 5-1 lead to begin the game.

However, the Knights methodically cut the Crimson Hawks’ lead and eventually tied the game at five and again at six, before Fisher gave Gannon the lead for the first time with less than a minute remaining. Bonnepart tacked on another goal seconds later to give the Knights an 8-6 halftime lead.

This proved to be IUP’s Waterloo, as Gannon scored eight of the second half’s first 11 goals to extend its lead to as much as seven on a pair of occasions.

Lowman said the Knights woke up in the second part of the first half.

“I think coming out we were pretty flat, and it really took until the last 15 minutes before we got it together,” she said. “Natalie and Fish had great games and we really had balanced scoring throughout the lineup.”

With three games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Knights will have a chance to make the PSAC tournament for the third straight year.

Seniors Rachel Dercola, Susie Taylor, Amanda Sharbaugh, Sarah Grzybinski and Maggie Brinkman are among those who have helped the Knights reach the postseason the past two years and hope to finish off with another playoff run.

“Finishing strong is crucial because you want to be one of the teams that goes to the PSAC tournament,” Dercola said. “We need to continue working hard in practice and stay focused and ready for our upcoming games.”

The Knights will continue their crucial stretch when they travel to Millersville University (5-8, 2-6) 4 p.m. Friday.

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@knights.gannon.edu

Those are three words Stevie Lombardoni never imagined she would hear when she stepped foot into the Gannon athletic training room in August of 2010.

Though she is finally back in action for the Knights this spring, her career was drastically altered after taking a stick check to the face during one of the final games in April 2010 during her senior year at Mexico High School in Mexico, N.Y.

“I went one v. one with a girl, and after I beat her she checked me – she took her stick and hit me in the face,” she said. “I don’t even know if she got a red card or anything because I don’t remember much after that.”

Lombardoni, a sophomore at the attack position for the Knights, said that although she was disoriented after the hit, she can remember being taken off the field and hearing her coach yelling.

“I was on the ground and my coach just started screaming, ‘There’s blood, there’s blood,’” she said.

Despite being diagnosed with a minor concussion, Lombardoni said she was able to finish out her senior season – not doing so, according to her, was out of the question.

“I was the leading scorer for my high school team,” she said. “They needed me.”

However, when Lombardoni came to play for the Knights, she underwent a mandatory evaluation from the Gannon trainers before being cleared to play. When asked how many concussions she had sustained over the course of her career, she told them maybe two or three.

“It was probably more but some of them aren’t really recorded down,” she said.

Because of this, the trainers referred her to Tammy Kordes, a neurologist at Hamot Hospital, for a second approval before clearing her for action.

Lombardoni, who first picked up a lacrosse stick in seventh grade, said the results of the tests Kordes gave her were unfathomable.

“She said I had a severe concussion and couldn’t believe I was still playing,” she said. “I was so shocked – I just started crying because they told me my career could be over with. They told me I could die if I didn’t slow down, and that just really set me back to reality.”

The overwhelming news didn’t stop there.

Not only did she have to change her entire diet in order to prevent the chronic headaches she had been experiencing for months, Lombardoni said she was limited from doing any activity that would get her blood pumping. For someone so used to physical activity, Lombardoni said she could not imagine being so dormant.

“I couldn’t even walk fast to classes or anything,” she said.

She also said she was forced to take several different medications, including Topamax and Prozac, which are usually meant to treat epilepsy and emotional disorders, respectively.

“I was at risk for having seizures if I hit my head again, and the Prozac was for the headaches,” she said. “I hated it.”

After enduring months of inactivity and sitting on the sidelines during the team’s 2011 season, Lombardoni was finally cleared in April of that same year, but was still forced to watch as a redshirt freshman.

Now, in the midst of the team’s 2012 season under a new head coach, Lindsey Lowman, Lombardoni is one of the Knights’ top attackers and offensive performers.

According to Lowman, Lombardoni has a lot going for her.

“I didn’t see her at all last year, so for me I was justing walking in fresh,” Lowman said. “Stevie is definitely a strong player. She’s got great one v. one moves, a strong shot, she’s a quick sprinter.”

Though Lombardoni said she still feels like she isn’t back up to the level she once was at, Lowman said that one would never know she had been injured, or been forced to sit out for an entire year.

“You wouldn’t know that at all from watching her play, she goes hard all the time,” she said. “There are times when we need to get a goal and I can pull her aside and say, ‘Stevie, get the ball and just go, do it yourself.’”

But Lombardoni said she has still been hard on herself, at least internally, as Lowman said she never brings it up or tries to use the injury as an excuse.

“Things are harder for me to process,” Lombardoni said. “When we run plays, I’ll be like, ‘Shoot, that was my cut,’ my defender will turn her head and I should be cutting but I’m still processing.”

Hesitation is the one aspect of Lombardoni’s game that Lowman said she may be able to pinpoint to the concussions.

“She’s afraid to get in the middle of a scrum, if there’s lots of sticks flying, or weaving through where a lot of sticks would be coming down for checks,” she said. “But I don’t even think about it, really. It doesn’t enter my mind that that’s why maybe she’s tentative.”

Lombardoni said although she doesn’t feel completely back to normal, she has felt comfortable being back on the field with her teammates.

“It was tough, not being able to play the sport I love,” she said. “And it was hard not having my mom there to go to the doctors’ appointments with me.”

So far, the team has played seven matches. Lombardoni has made a big impact in each one, starting five of them. She’s currently fifth in goals with 12, and is second on the team in shot percentage at .600.

But her career as a Knight will end after this season, as she said she plans to transfer to State University of New York at Oswego, a school closer to home, because of financial issues.

“She brought it to my attention, and I’m bummed,” Lowman said. “She’s got a lot of great things that she could do here so it’s disappointing that she’s going to have to go.”

Lowman said that although she’s aware Lombardi may not be at Gannon next year, this holds no implications for the current season.

“I told her, just do the best you can with it this year and have fun,” she said. “I’m not going to not play her just because she’s not going to be here. I want to use Stevie because she’s a great player.”

CHRISTINE PEFFER

peffer002@knights.gannon.edu

Gannon University Field proved to be the necessary venue to obtain that boost.

The Knights opened the season with a four-game road trip, which is usually not seen as an easy feat regardless of when it falls in the season. They won the first contest of the year against Queens College by a score of 18-12 but only rocky roads laid ahead on the season-commencing venture.

Gannon suffered defeats at the sticks of 15th-ranked Pfeiffer, 5th-ranked Limestone, and Division I Niagara, and not for lack of effort according to Head Coach Lindsey Lowman.

“(They were) all hard-fought games, but we just came up short,” Lowman said of the trip.

Only two games away from the Knights’ PSAC-opening bout with Slippery Rock, Lowman was eager to get back to the drawing board and employ the lessons learned against the upper echelon of teams the road trip featured.

“We need to work on our patience on attack,” Lowman said, “Once we settle down and start reading the defense, we have a lot of weapons who can score on the attack.”

Gannon did just that in the two games by establishing their turf at home. The Knights defeated Lake Erie College in their home opener 22-8 Friday, and followed with a 17-7 victory against visiting Slippery Rock University to begin its PSAC campaign.

Through the course of these games, Lowman was forced to become aware of the weapons that she actually had.

“Kim Neagle has really started to step up on attack and is feeling more comfortable being an offensive threat,” Lowman said.

Neagle has scored 15 goals to stake out her share of the team lead. She has also added 6 assists.

Neagle’s scoring rival and offensive leader of the Knights is junior midfielder Jess Fugate, who has already amassed 34 points, with 15 goals and 19 assists.

Although Fugate is far and away the statistical leader offensively, Lowman has been very pleased with her play defensively as well.

“Jess Fugate is a strong player who has done great things on both ends of the field so far,“ Lowman said.

The Knights hit the road Friday to visit the Edinboro University of Pennsylvania Fighting Scots, a trip their much more familiar with.

ALEX WOMER

womer003@knights.gannon.edu

However, no one expected the lightning assault put forth by the Warriors on the higher-seeded Knights. No one, except head coach Steve Wagner.

“I wasn’t surprised at all,” Wagner said. “In the first half we came out lethargic, which is mind-boggling considering what they did to us last time.”

The Knights ended their season with a 12-5-1 overall record and an 8-4 mark in the PSAC.

The loss stung all the more since the Warriors handed Gannon a devastating 15-14 overtime loss at Gannon March 29.

East Stroudsburg (10-8, 7-5) finished the first half on a 5-1 scoring run, en route to an 8-4 halftime lead.

The Knights were able to battle back, and scored four of the first five goals to pull within one at 9-8. But Gannon saw its rally extinguished when a key turnover at the 12-minute mark led to the first of seven straight East Stroudsburg goals.

Senior midfielder Mary Eshenour finished with three goals to lead the Knights, but pointed to the turnover as a key turning point.

“We definitely came out slow,” Eshenour said. “We came back and tied it up, but the turnover really hurt and eventually did us in.”

East Stroudsburg will move on to face second-seeded Lock Haven in the conference semifinals at West Chester Saturday.

Despite the loss, the Knights finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak, which included four conference wins.

A key factor in the Knights’ late-season run was their double-overtime thriller victory over rival Mercyhurst in the season finale Thursday.

Junior Rachel DerCola’s only goal with 1:38 on the clock proved to be the game winner.

Gannon overcame a 5-3 halftime deficit by scoring five of the game’s next six goals to take an 8-6 lead.

Mercyhurst, however, was able to respond, as the Lakers’ Anna LeGrett scored a dramatic unassisted goal with one second on the clock to send the game into overtime.

After Mercyhurst drew first blood with a score in overtime, it was the Knights’ turn for an electrifying game-saver. Jess Fugate sent the game into a second overtime when she took a pass from Eshenour and found the back of the net with three seconds remaining.

Gannon won the draw in the second overtime session and controlled possession until DerCola’s game-winner.

The win set up a potential rematch with the Lakers, who defeated Bloomsberg 13-10 in their quarterfinal matchup.

However, Gannon couldn’t hold up its end, largely due to misjudgment on the part of the Knights, Wagner said.

“They beat us the first time because they outworked us. We underestimated them, and they did it again,” he said.

Eshenour, who finished her career with a Gannon-record 246 goals, said she saw all the makings of a loss with the team’s approach.

“He told us not to underestimate them, and I don’t think I really did, but for the most part, I think the team did and that’s why we lost, she said.”

The No. 10 Knights finished with 12 wins for the third straight season, and expect to return three of their top four scorers, as sophomores Jess Fugate and Sarah Grzybinski as well junior Caitlyn Fugate will come back for 2012. DerCola, the team’s leader in assists (34) will also return as well as freshman goaltender Margaret Maslyn.

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@gannon.edu

The Knights went 1-1 last week in conference with a win over Indiana (Pa.) University Wednesday, followed by a loss to conference-leading Lock Haven University in a weather-shortened game Saturday.

In the week that was, one Knight even managed to write her name into the history books.

Mary Eshenour scored four goals against IUP to set the Gannon scoring record to break former teammate and current assistant coach Taryn Millard’s mark of 221.

Gannon vaulted itself back into the national top-10 after a one-week hiatus. The Knights currently occupy the No. 10 spot, after dropping to No. 11 last week.

Rankings aside, the Knights have finally started to steady the ship after a tumultuous season, according to Wagner.

“We’ve been through so much getting to where we are, and at this point, it’s kind of like ‘let’s finish this out and take care of business,’” Wagner said.

Against Lock Haven, It took the Knights an entire half before they were able to settle in.

Lock Haven won 12-8, after officials called the game with 11 minutes, 53 seconds remaining due to a driving snow storm at Gannon University Field.

The third-ranked Bald Eagles opened up a 9-1 lead on the Knights at halftime, after controlling the ball in Gannon’s zone for much of the first half. Lock Haven outshot Gannon 13-9, as the Bald Eagles’ Jessica Pandolf registered four of her game-high six goals in the opening period.

However, the Knights fought back to make a game of it in the second half by registering the game’s last five goals before Mother Nature came calling.

Despite the loss, Gannon was able to take a couple positives away from the game. Eshenour tied the Gannon scoring record, and the Knights benefited from playing one of the nation’s best teams, Wagner said.

“Basically, at halftime we just decided to wake up and make a game out of it,” Wagner said. “It was the kind of game that was good to play in just for the experience part of it.”

Whatever momentum Gannon gained at the end of the Lock Haven game, the Knights carried with them to IUP, where they routed the Crimson Hawks 20-10.

After IUP took a 3-0 lead to begin the game, the Knights scored eight of the game’s next nine goals and never looked back.

One of the first-half goals was credited to Eshenour, making the senior midfielder the all-time leading scorer in Gannon lacrosse history.

It was a fitting setting for Eshenour’s historic achievement, as Millard was present on the Gannon sideline, and the record’s previous holder, former Gannon standout Mindy Richmond, looked on, as she serves as head coach of IUP.

Eshenour scored three more times in the game to increase her career total to 225 goals.

Gannon improved to 9-4-1 overall with an 18-6 win against nonconference foe Lake Erie. The Knights are 5-3-0 in the PSAC .

Gannon will conclude its season with three conference home games.

Should the Knights claim one of the top four spots in the PSAC standings, Gannon will host a game in the postseason tournament.

It is one idea the Knights are not shying away from.

Junior Rachel DerCola said the entire team has its eye on the postseason.

“Obviously finishing strong is what we’re hoping for, but we’re also looking to the PSAC playoffs and focusing on what kind of damage we can do.”

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@gannon.edu

(Deadria Clarke) Senior Mary Eshenour passes the ball up the field in a 10-8 victory over Bloomsburg University Saturday.

“It feels like, to me, that we are finally figuring out team chemistry, and who this team is for the first time since I took over,” Wagner said.

The 11th-ranked Knights were able to put themselves back in the win column by dispatching Bloomsburg 10-8 on the road Friday night. With the win, Gannon improved its record to 7-3-1 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC West.

The Knights appeared to be reverting to their old ways, when they staked the Huskies to a 3-1 lead over the game’s first 12 minutes.

However, Gannon quickly discovered its offensive stroke, scoring seven of the game’s next nine goals to end the half.

Senior midfielder Mary Eshenour led the charge with four goals to increase her team-leading total to 41. The senior took the game into her own hands after the early deficit, and registered three consecutive scores to give Gannon the lead for good.

Freshman goaltender Margaret Maslyn had arguably her best outing of the year, when she stopped a season-high 12 shots, and limited the opponent to the second-fewest goal total of the season.

Although Gannon was outshot 26-23 by Bloomsberg, Wagner said he saw an assertiveness that was previously absent.

“I didn’t even realize we were down by two goals, because I felt so good about the way we were playing,” he said. “In the earlier games, it felt like we were playing not to lose, whereas we were playing to win here.”

Although Bloomsburg (6-5 overall, 3-3 PSAC West) managed the cut the Gannon lead to two in the second half, before junior Rachel DerCola shut the door on a potential Husky comeback by tallying the Knights’ final goal with 10 minutes remaining.

DerCola’s two goals bookended Gannon’s scoring, and put a fitting exclamation point on a game representative of the season.

“It definitely has been an inconsistent season,” DerCola said. “It’s been a little bit like a roller coaster, but hopefully in the next few games, we’ll be able to get a lot more wins than losses.”

Gannon will have a chance to improve upon their fourth-place standing in the PSAC, as five of the Knights’ last six opponents are conference foes.

Wagner said he feels the win over Bloomsburg should set the Knights up for the final stretch. “I think Bloomsburg was a turning point as far as team attitude,” Wagner said. “As long as we play, and with chemistry the way we did in that game, it doesn’t matter what our record is.”

The Knights will put their newfound confidence to the test when they face PSAC-leading and undefeated Lock Haven Wednesday. The Bald Eagles carry an average margin of victory of 12 goals, and are one of only four undefeated teams in Division II.

DerCola said the game will provide the Knights with an opportunity to play beyond the regular season.

“We’ve never beaten them, so it would be quite the achievement. It could be a preview of the PSACs, when we could potentially meet up with them again, so if we could beat them twice, it would really be something,” she said. “It’s getting down to grind time.”

JOE CUNEO

cuneo001@gannon.edu

(Deadria Clarke) Junior forward Rachel DerCola (12) battles for a loose ball during the Knights' 20-9 win over I-79 rival Edinboro University, Friday.

However, Gannon University women’s lacrosse team’s 12-12 draw with Division I opponent Niagara University lacked just that.

After three overtime periods – two being sudden death – neither team was able to separate from the other before the referees decided to call the game.

Coach Steve Wagner, who claims that Tuesday’s tie was the first of his career, said that Gannon deserves the credit for the Purple Eagles’ comeback.

“We made bad decisions throughout the game and played very badly,” he said. “We’re an undisciplined team.”

Overtime, let alone a tie, was the last thing on the Knights’ mind as time ticked away in the second half with Gannon protecting a four-goal lead with less than four minutes to go.

It was then that Niagara mounted a comeback worthy of airplay on ESPN Classic as they effectively erased an 11-7 deficit.

Niagara’s Fran Pollastro would lead the late rally by scoring her 11th and 12th goals of the season in a little more than a two-minute span.

Despite the flurry, the Knights looked as though they were set to maintain the lead until a goal by Niagara’s Lauren Bowen with five seconds left knotted the score.

According to Wagner, it was the Knights’ insistence on playing aggressive offensively that eventually came back to bite them.

“We went into the stall and kept shooting,” he said. “You can’t shoot when you’re in the stall. We never should have seen those shots at the end of the game.”

The Knights looked to grab the momentum back in the first overtime period as sophomore attacker Caitlyn Fisher broke the deadlock by scoring her second goal of the game and 11th of the season.

Fisher would add three assists to tie her with Pollastro as the game-leader in points.

While the Niagara defense stalled Gannon in the second overtime, the Purple Eagles scored the last goal of the match of the net with one minute remaining.

“We shot 46 times and didn’t convert,” Wagner said. “They weren’t moving for each other. We went into more of an individual offense – we have to get our feeding game going.”

After two sudden death overtime periods, the game was called as the snow began fall hard on the playing field.

Senior Mary Eshenour, junior Sarah Grzybinski, sophomore Jess Fugate and junior Rachel DerCola – who turned 21 Tuesday – found their way to the scoring column. Eshenour, who is on pace to set a career high in goals, now has 30 on the season.

Even though the contest proved to be an intense back-and-forth affair, the result will have little impact on either team as games against Division I or Division III teams are not considered in playoff selections for the Knights.

Although being unable to come away with the victory against the Division I Purple Eagles, Gannon faired better against I-79 rival Edinboro University in its 20-9 win Saturday. Eshenour and Fugate led the scoring with five goals apiece.

“We went one-on-one for the game and that worked,” Wagner said. “We rode hard and played smart.”

The victory served as the second time this season that the Knights reached the 20-goal mark in a single game and sixth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference regular season win in a row dating back to last year.

Gannon will get back to PSAC play Friday as the team travels to West Chester (Pa.) University to battle the Golden Rams at 4 p.m.

ZACK MCDERMOTT

mcdermot002@gannon.edu