The days leading up to Columbia Women’s Lacrosse (CWL) second home game weekend were spent frequently checking the weather as the team was eager to avoid a repeat of the rain out from the previous weekend. Thankfully, the weather forecast remained clear, and game day began bright and early at Cosmo Park on Saturday, April 21.
CWL’s first game was against the Des Moines JV team. At the end of the first half, CWL was down 1-5, with a single goal made by sophomore Hannah Cajandig. The team rallied in the second half, bringing the score up to a tie at 6-6. Single goals were made by Hickman sophomore Brittan Bennett, Hickman junior Megan Shaneberger and Rock Bridge seniors Jessica Jost  and Elsa Neal, who made two goals. With 45 seconds left on the clock, however, Des Moines managed to slip another goal in, making the final score of the game 6-7 in their favor.
“Today we really showed what we had on the field. It was a great game, although we lost we really pushed until the last second,” senior Torie Deckert said. “Our comeback in that game was insane.  We were the underdogs.”
In CWL’s second game of the day against Lee’s Summit West JV, however, they definitely weren’t the underdogs in the end. Half-time began with a nail-bitingly close score of 1-2, Lee’s Summit West leading. CWL’s first goal was made by West Junior High School freshman Nicky Henley. Over the course of the second half, CWL tied up the score and kept making goals, ending the game with a score of 6-3. The five goals scored after half-time were made by West Junior High School freshman Emily Franke, Bennett, Cajandig, Jost and Neal.
“It was pretty intense. There was lots of going for the ball and fighting for it,” goalie sophomore Josie Miller. “We gave it our all and we won.”
The last game of the day for CWL was against Wentzville JV. Once again, CWL made a comeback in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to win. The final score of the game was 5-9, in Wentzville’s favor. Of the five goals made, two were made by Hickman sophomore Brittan Bennet, another two by Hickman junior Megan Shaneberger and Cajandig made one.
“Our team really pulled through this game. It was our third of the day, nine hours after our first game,” senior Breanna Aldridge said. “Defense stopped the attack multiple times and held them at nine points. We definitely did so much better than when we played Wentzville earlier this season. I am really proud of the work we did on Saturday with these three games.”
Next week, CWL will be traveling to away games in Kansas City. If you’d like to come and see them play, they’ll be home again May 12 with games at Cosmo Park at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.
By Kira Lubahn