The College of DuPage women’s lacrosse team suffered an 18-3 loss against a fast-paced Wheaton Lacrosse Club team on April 11. Despite the loss, freshman team captain Nadja Tyka’s three-goal contribution allowed COD to gain some momentum during short periods of the game.

“I think by the end of the game we clicked, but we had to get a feel on how the other team played,” said Tyka. “Within the last three quarters, they only scored 6 [goals] on us, so I’m proud of our team of pushing through. We win as a team and lose as a team, and we all have each other’s back.”

From the beginning of the first quarter, Wheaton’s Club scored three quick goals within the first three minutes of the game and there were no signs of them slowing down. The Chaps would continue to struggle defensively to allow 11 goals in the first quarter to fall behind 11-1 going into the second.

Freshman defender Asma Ajmeri had a busy night chasing down Wheaton’s experienced and speedy players. Despite falling behind early, Ajmeri highlighted the team’s efforts to stay in the game and continue to compete.

“We did practice plays defensively, but we just couldn’t implement it on the game, but we learned our lesson and will have to focus on it during practice,” said Ajmeri. “I’m just starting to learn lacrosse and missed ten days due to Ramadan, but I need to switch on defense quicker.”

Freshman goalkeeper Jessica Shanahan was thrown shots left and right throughout the game against Wheaton’s Club team to only save as much as she could. The majority of Wheaton’s goals came off of miscommunication amongst COD defenders and wide-open opportunities.

“The game went pretty rough during the first half, but the second half went well,” said Shanahan. “We worked really well as a team and were able to together to get some good goals in. I tell myself that each shot I miss [to save], ‘It’s okay’ and that I’ll have the next one to save. I try to stay positive throughout all of it, and I just love this team.”

Although the loss came with a large scoring deficit, women’s head lacrosse coach Gary Cope was proud of his team’s efforts and looks forward to seeing their growth on display.

“The first quarter was not our best at all, but defensively we were 100 times better [in the last 3 quarters],” said Cope. “We are a young group and if you look at the stats, we are all freshmen except for one player. We’re getting better, and it’s the small victories we have to take. The fact that we kept up with the next three quarters after a horrible first quarter speaks volumes.” 

The Chaps will go against Milwaukee School of Engineering on April 19 at 6 p.m. in Milwaukee, WI.