Box Score It was a great feeling for the players and coaches of the Bard College Women's Lacrosse team last night as they were able to celebrate their first win in the young programs history after an 8-7 win over Well College yesterday at the Lorenzo Ferrari Soccer Complex. This is the first year as a varsity program for the Women's Lacrosse team and it was great for them to be able to pick up their first win in their first season. After a disappointing 11-12 overtime loss just two nights ago, to the Gators of the Sage Colleges, the Raptors did not want to have to face that situation again. With the win Bard moves to 1-5 (0-5 Skyline) on the season as Wells College dropped to 4-6.

The Raptors began the first half in attack mode as they would net the first two goals of the game, both scored by Farah Akhtar (So. – Karachi, Pakistan) to take an early 2-0 lead. Bard would go stagnant for the next twenty minutes as they watched their lead dwindle and be overtaken by the Express of Well College as they scored four goals, two by Anna Breard and two by Madeline Bass, in that twenty minute span to take a 4-2 lead with about six and a half minutes left in the first half. Lauren Dorsey-Spitz (Fr.- Pueblo, CO) would give the Raptors a little lift with her second goal of the season to bring Bard within one at 4-3. That one goal deficit would not last very long as the Express netted two more goals before the half ended to take a 6-3 lead heading into the second half.

Staring at another deficit and the possibility of a sixth straight loss to start their first season as a varsity program, the Raptors came out in the second half with a purpose. Bridget Reddington (Fr. – Caldwell, NJ) would begin the second half scoring after netting her first goal of the game just a minute and a half into the second half. It would be ten minutes before the next goal would be netted in the game and taking that goal was Madison Fletcher (So. – Schenectady, NY) who would bring Bard back within one. Akhtar would score two out of the next three goals for the Raptors to complete her first collegiate hat trick and allow Bard to take the lead. In between Akhtar's goals Reddington added one in herself to finish off the scoring for Bard in the second half and give the women an 8-6 advantage with fourteen minutes left in the game.

This was a situation that the Raptors had faced before, having the lead with time left on the clock. Coach Berheide called a time out, after Reddington gave the Raptors an 8-6 lead, to calm down the girls and to make sure that they finished the game strong and under control. The talk must have worked because the women would keep possession of the ball for most of the next eleven minutes. The Raptors would, however, have a costly turnover that would be grabbed by Wells and taken the length of the field for a goal, which brought the Express back to within one at 8-7. With three minutes left in the game the Raptors were facing the same situation that they were put in when they had lost to Sage two days ago. This time would be different as the defense played relentlessly for the next three minutes and the women went on to win their first game of the season.

Leading the way for the Raptors was Farah Akhtar who scored four goals on four shots, to give her five goals on the season, while also grabbing four ground balls. Bridget Reddington added to her team high fifteen goals, with two goals on six shots. Reddington also grabbed eleven ground balls and caused five turnovers. Madison Fletcher and Lauren Dorsey-Spitz also had a goal each in the win for the Raptors.

Anna Breard and Madeline Bass tallied five of the Express's seven goals in the game to lead Well College.

The Raptors look to carry their momentum into their next game when they face off against Skyline Conference opponent Farmingdale State College on Saturday, April 10 at Farmingdale.