Disappointed at missing out on the Centennial Conference playoffs, the Muhlenberg women’s lacrosse team is trying to put its stamp on the season in its closing stretch of three home games in five days.

“We’re really frustrated at the way the last two games turned

With her two assists, Donohue moved to within five of the school record of 36 in a season. She entered the game seventh in Division III in assists per game.

out,” said senior Jessica Geiger, referring to losses by a total of three goals to playoff contenders Ursinus and Swarthmore. “We know we’re better than that, so we’re looking forward to playing these games. We just want to go out with a bang.”

The Mules did just that in the first of the three games, opening up a 10-2 lead at halftime and going on to defeat Kean, 15-8, for their school-record ninth win of the season. The team had been tied with the 2003 and 2005 squads with eight wins.

Muhlenberg won the opening draw and BANG, scored just 16 seconds into the contest when sophomore Taylor Armstrong converted a feed from senior Steph Light. After freshman Ruth Morrongiello intercepted a Cougar pass, the Mules (9-5) again turned to their transition game, and BANG, senior Shannon Donohue found classmate Courtney Tapkas for a goal to make it 2-0 less than three minutes into the game.

Kean (5-8) scored the next goal, but BANG, at the 7:03 mark, Donohue and Tapkas hooked up again. Later, Light took a free-position shot that went CLANG off the crossbar, but the rebound bounced right to Tapkas, who BANG put the ball in for her third goal of the game.

Muhlenberg got considerable bang for its buck in the first half, scoring on 10 of 14 shots. The pace slowed down in the second half, but the Mules remained comfortably ahead the whole time.

“In the first half we implemented everything Coach has been drilling into our heads, in transition, ball movement and working together as a defensive unit,” said Geiger.

Geiger, who entered the game with two goals on the season, even got into the act, matching her season total in the first half.

“It was the doing of the attack as a whole,” she was quick to point out. “They made smart decisions, moved the ball around and got it to someone who was open.”

Tapkas finished with five goals to increase her career total to 206 and move into third place on the CC all-time scoring list. Armstrong scored on all three of her shots for her second hat trick of the season and added four draw controls.

Freshman Caroline Shadood made 15 saves, including six on free-position shots, to move into fifth place on the program’s single-season list with 160 saves. Junior Kelli Sakonchick caused four turnovers and snagged four draw controls.

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