Johnson, Shannon lead CU lacrosse to 17-9 win

The women’s lacrosse team improved its overall record to 6-7 today, defeating Wagner 17-9. With the win, the Lions still have a chance at achieving a record of .500 for the season, if they defeat Harvard this Saturday in their final game.

Columbia started scoring right away, gaining a 2-0 lead during the first two minutes of play with goals by freshman Kacie Johnson and senior Brittany Shannon, both of whom would eventually finish the game with five goals each for the Light Blue. However, Wagner was able to keep up throughout the beginning of the first half, tying the score at 2-2 and responding to every Columbia goal with a score of its own. With 10:11 left in the half, the Lions narrowly led the Seahawks 6-5. However, Columbia was finally able to pull ahead in the next 10 minutes, scoring four goals—two by Johnson, one by Shannon, and one by junior Gabrielle Geronimos­—before the break to widen its lead to 10-5 at the half.

The Lions took off again at the opening of the second half by scoring three unanswered goals, two by sophomore Taylor Gattinella and another by Geronimos. Although the Seahawks fought back with four goals in the half, the Lions overwhelmed them with another four of their own, eventually emerging victorious with a wide 17-9 victory. Sophomore Megan Carley scored the final goal of the game, which marked the first goal of her collegiate career.

Columbia will close out its season against Ivy rival Harvard this Saturday, April 24 at 1 p.m. at Robert K. Kraft Field.