For the first time in the program's history, the IUP women's lacrosse team is riding on a five-game winning streak. The streak began with a three-game sweep of action over the weekend.
The first win came against the College of Notre Dame Saturday. The game didn't start well for the Hawks, as they found themselves trailing late in the first half.
During a six-minute span, IUP scored four goals and turned what was a 6-5 deficit into a 9-6 halftime lead.
The Hawks began the second half the same way they ended the first, scoring nine goals in a row. IUP outscored the College of Notre Dame 10-1 in the second half. They went on to win the game, 19-7.
Stephanie Bianco led the Hawks with five goals. Alexa Lodovici finished the game with three goals and four assists.
Sunday was an unusual day as the Hawks traveled to take on Tiffin in the morning, followed by an hour trip to take on Urbana later in the day.
The game against Tiffin saw six IUP players scoring multiple goals on their way to a 17-10 victory.
"Both teams gave us a run for our money," IUP Head Coach Mindy Richmond said. "They're talented teams, and if we turned the ball over, they made us pay for it."
The Hawks tore a close 2-1 game wide open with seven goals in a row. They finished the half ahead 12-5.
Tiffin scored the first goal of the second half, but IUP found five more goals to help secure the 17-10 victory.
Bianco, Lodovici, Beth Glasshangel and Colleen Berlin all had three goals during the win over Tiffin.
IUP had no problem taking care of Urbana as they cruised to a 22-3 victory driven goals from 13 different players.
"Urbana is a first-year program," Richmond said. "They don't have a very deep bench."
Berlin was the only player for IUP to have three goals. Seven other players had two goals. The Hawks outshot Urbana 40-11
Some may say the win comes as no surprise, but it is a win nonetheless. Richmond was able to utilize her bench and get some girls a little bit of playing time.
"A lot of our subs got to see a lot of playing time, and we got to work through a lot of our stuff," Richmond said.
They hope the work pays off, as the next few games aren't going to come easy for the Hawks, starting with a big PSAC road game 4 p.m. tomorrow against Mercyhurst.
"IUP has never beaten Mercyhurst in its 13 year program history, so we'll be looking for an upset," Richmond said. "It should be a good matchup. We played them in a fall tournament, and we tied 7-7, so we know we can play with this team."
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