The Florida State athletic department unveiled its brand-new sport for Seminole fans on Saturday when the women’s lacrosse team took the field for its historic inaugural game against Stetson.
Florida State University President Richard McCullough, First Lady Jai Virtikar and Vice President and Athletics Director Michael Alford took the field for the ceremonial first draw between FSU’s Lydia Ward and Stetson’s Sydney Jenkins on a crisp clear Saturday with a curious, standing-room crowd filling Seminole Lacrosse Complex.
FSU made quick work of the Hatters with a dominating 14-4 win to notch the Seminoles’ first win in program history.
“I couldn’t be more proud for our 38 young women that put literally everything they had into this moment,” FSU coach Sara Tisdale said. “Obviously walking away with a win makes it even sweeter, but I think watching this facility come to today was incredibly special.”
Anticipating that many Seminole fans were probably not too familiar with the sport of lacrosse and its rules, the athletic department handed out rule sheets explaining the game which were referenced throughout.
Attendance was stellar for this historic game as fans packed the ample sideline grandstands and blanketed the grassy areas, which are similar to the softball-soccer complex. While the team building containing the locker room and offices - which are on the opposite side of the field - won’t be finished until summer, the grandstands and restrooms welcomed a large crowd of curious and excited Seminole fans including head football coach Mike Norvell, and soccer coach Brian Pensky.
In the first quarter, the Seminoles struck first when redshirt freshman attacker Summer Harrell scored the first official point for the lacrosse program. The roar from the crowd was as if Florida State had scored a touchdown in football. Then, with eight minutes left in the first quarter, the Seminoles scored again when sophomore midfielder Meg Kinney punched in another goal.
Stetson answered back with a goal to add a touch of drama, but sophomore midfielder Lydia Ward scored a pair of goals to push the lead to 4-2 as the Seminoles defense swarmed and trapped the Hatter women on every possession
The first half was a fast-paced affair between the teams. As FSU headed into halftime up 7-3, one thing was for sure, the Seminoles have found a player in Ward. The talented sophomore made her presence known in the first half with two goals and would end up finishing with four on the day. Her hustle, determination and speed made Ward a crowd favorite and a potential offensive weapon who could give a difficult slate of ACC opponents fits to contain.
The third quarter was an offensive onslaught by the Seminoles as they would separate themselves from Stetson, taking a 12-4 lead into the fourth quarter, when the still-full crowd stood and held four fingers high as they traditionally do in Doak.
Brynn Perkins scored her second goal 33 seconds into the final stanza and Amelia Brice’s shot found the net with six minutes remaining. In lacrosse, if a team goes up by 10 or more points, the running clock comes into effect, which put the Seminole historic win into the history books and started FSU Lacrosse’s first-ever postgame celebration on the field, as the many fans still in attendance snapped keepsake selfies with the 14-4 Noles Win! scoreboard.
Ten Seminoles etched their name into Seminole record book including: senior captain Catrina Tobin who made the first five saves, and nine players who scored goals, led by Ward with four, Lola Mancuso, Amelia Brite with multiple scores, as well as Faith Wooters, Katherine Rathjen, Meg Kenny and Summer Harrell with one each.
“We had little jitters, I’m glad we got them out of the way,” Tisdale said. “Obviously it’s a long haul, we’ve got a good ACC slate in front of us and so it’s important that when we settle into our offense in particular and that were able to overcome those mistakes when they do happen. I love the effort that was given so they can continue to have those extra possessions both for our defense and our ride. Overall, just a really great team effort where we were able to take the ball from one end and turn it into a goal in the other.”
Only time will tell how well the first season of Seminole lacrosse will turn out, but one thing is for sure, the players and fans are excited for what’s to come next.
FSU will play Kennesaw State on Monday at 1 p.m. at the Seminole Lacrosse Complex on Pottsdamer Road across from FSU-FAMU College of Engineering, the Morcom Aquatics Center and the Seminole Legacy Golf Course.
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