Resilient Explorers Navigate First A-10 Tournament
by Justin Feil | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | Atlantic 10 Breakdown
The Atlantic 10 Women’s Lacrosse Championship opens Friday at Duquesne with three traditional powers that have combined to win the last five titles and a fourth party crasher.
Top-seeded Richmond won three championships from 2005-2007. The Spiders play 2008 champion Temple, the No. 4 seed, which has five A-10 titles to its credit, at 1 p.m. Third-seeded Massachusetts is the defending champion after winning its second title in program history in 2009. Its 3:30 p.m. opponent is La Salle, which will make its first appearance in an A-10 tournament after earning the No. 2 seed.
In a season of comebacks, La Salle's is one of the biggest in the lacrosse world.
One year after finishing with seven straight losses and a 1-6
record in the A-10, the Explorers went 5-2 in the conference in a
9-6 overall campaign.
“It’s kind of a leap forward,” said La Salle
head coach Candace Taglianetti. “But we thought it was
possible all year.”
In the final weekend of the season, La Salle needed at least a
split to reach the postseason. It fell behind Temple on Friday as
well as UMass on Sunday, both by identical 9-6 scores in the second
halves before rallying for wins, 13-11 over Temple in overtime and
10-9 over UMass to leapfrog to the second seeding. Senior Jill
Davis’ goal with 6:10 to play ignited a four-goal run that
finished with two tallies in the final 26 seconds to close out the
defending A-10 champions. Both games were on the road.
“Nothing comes easy to us,” Davis said. “It’s always a battle. We have that work ethic that will get us to where we are now.”
La Salle is 4-1 in conference games decided by two goals or fewer. Its win over UMass was the seventh time this season that the Explorers have come back from a deficit, and many of the rallies have been of the spectacular variety.
They trailed Monmouth, 11-6, with nine minutes left. Davis won the game with a goal in sudden death overtime, her fifth goal of the Explorers’ final six. Duquesne led, 10-6, midway through the second half before La Salle rallied to a 13-11 win.
“I’ve never been calmer in these situations as a coach,” Taglianetti said, “because I know we’re prepared.”
Taglianetti is in her second year at the helm. There were tough times in year one. La Salle had the lead against UMass last year, then allowed 16 straight goals to the Minutewomen. Last year’s win against Temple, the Explorers' first conference victory since 2006, was a start for a team with no seniors. This year’s senior class calls it their practice year.
“We feel that now we have some senior leadership, we’re able to make some great decisions,” Taglianetti said. “We’ve been coming from behind a lot. That comes from the senior leadership guiding the underclassmen.”
There are also more players to lead. A solid freshmen class has made an immediate impact, and sophomore goalie Megan Corliss has been steady in her first season starting.
“Everything is falling together now because we have numbers and we’re being pushed to the limit that we should be,” Davis said. “I wish it had happened sooner, but it’s great to happen my senior year.”
Davis is a redshirt senior. She broke her collarbone the day
before the season opener in 2008. A 4.0 GPA elementary and special
education major with a minor in American Studies, she doesn’t
expect to use her final season of eligibility as she pursues
teaching and coaching.
Aside from the classroom, Davis has also stood out on the field,
where she leads the Explorers in both goals (39) and assists (14).
Four of her goals are game-winners, and she wouldn’t mind if
her next goal, which will be her 100th career goal, also went for a
game-winner Friday. Sunday’s A-10 championship game is at 3
p.m.
“Having five overtime games and being the underdog in almost
every game we played,” Davis said, “we know what it
takes to win.”
The Explorers have equaled the program record with nine wins
this season, and sit on the verge of making more history if they
can win two more games in the A-10 tournament that decides the
conference’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA tournament.
“We’re hot at the right time,” Taglianetti said.
“We know what to do at the right time. I think that’s
what’s really important.”
Even if La Salle doesn’t advance with what has become a
trademark rally, it has already enjoyed a comeback to remember with
its regular-season success.
“Amazing would describe it,” Davis said, adding, “I think we surprised other people more than ourselves.”
