WILDWOOD • With only four years of competitive lacrosse under its belt, Cor Jesu has come along way in a short time.
The Chargers ventured into heated waters at Lafayette Friday and nearly pulled off an upset of the storied Lancer program.
However, the Lancers were able to pull out a 9-8 victory.
Mara Worley and Hannah Schneider scored early in the second half to give Lafayette a 9-6 advantage.
With less than 16 minutes left in the second half, Cor Jesu's Abby Walsh jumped up to swat in a pass from Haley Martin. Then Michelle Hatak reached the back of the net with 6:24 to play to cut the Lancers' lead to one goal.
But Lafayette did a fine job of working the ball around the attack to eat up valuable clock time and claim the victory.
Lafayette, which improved to 6-4 with the win, will be at MICDS on Monday at 4:15. Cor Jesu fell to 6-6 but is starting to prove that it can play with the better teams in the area.
"I couldn't be more happier with a loss," Cor Jesu coach Kevin Knickman said. "This is the first complete 50-minute game I've seen this team play."
The Lancers struck early and often. Claire Norfleet and Hannah Hayes were among those that beat the Charger defense for goals and Lafayette was up 5-0. Knickman called a timeout to circle the wagons.
The early deficit was reminiscent of Cor Jesu's game against St. Joseph this week when it got down early in an 11-5 loss.
"We huddled and I said, 'we can't have it anymore. You have to hustle. You're being outplayed right now not by a team that is better than you. You're being outplayed by yourselves,' " said Knickman
Charger standout Ellen Lampe keyed a 4-0 run to bring Cor Jesu within a point, 5-4, with 1:20 left to play.
Walsh tied the game at 6-6 with 53 seconds to play before Worley made a nice catch and shot with 20 seconds to play to give the Lancers a 7-6 advantage.
Knickman credited the Chargers' education by fire as a reason for its ability to hang and bang with the best.
"When you have a schedule with MICDS, Burroughs, Urusline, Nerinx, and St. Joe, it's tough," Kinckman said. "It teaches you how to play the game."
