Post Classifieds
Bengals offensive outburst continues hot start
By Leif Reigstad
On March 13, 2013
Through three games this season, a few trends are starting to pop up for the Buffalo State
lacrosse team - starting slowly, spreading out the attack and most importantly, winning.
Buffalo State (3-0) remains undefeated in 2013 after beating Division II Roberts
Wesleyan on the road, 21-14, on Monday. Junior attack Becca Martinez led the way with
seven goals and two assists for the Bengals, who had eight different goal scorers and
overcame a deficit in the opening minutes of the game.
Roberts Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead early, but Buffalo State senior attack Renee Glass tied
the game a minute later. Then the Raiders scored twice to take a 3-1 lead - the second
time in as many games the Bengals have had to dig themselves out of an early hole.
"We need to come out strong, which we have not done yet, and we need to work on
putting together a complete game," head coach Meg Stevens said. "When our defense
plays well, I need our offense to play well, and vice-versa. Right now, they seem to go in
spurts. But again, we're only three games in. We're still learning."
The Bengals' offense was potent in the final 23 minutes of the half, outscoring their
opponent 8-2. Senior attack Ashley Caporizzo started the run by rolling to the crease and
shooting in the top-left corner. Caporizzo scored four goals in the game despite being
face-guarded by the Raiders' defense.
One minute after Caporizzo scored, junior midfielder Jenn Shaddock scored to tie the
game at three. Martinez scored her first of the game before the Raiders scored to make
things even at four.
The Bengals went on a 5-1 run to close the half behind two goals from Martinez and
one each from Shaddock, senior attack Sara Kirchberger and junior midfielder Niki
Paulhardt.
Raiders' midfielder Vanessa Sell scored to open the second half, but Paulhardt quickly
answered to give the Bengals a 10-6 lead.
Sophomore Meghan Farrell capitalized twice for the Bengals after finding shooting space
along the eight-meter arc, and Martinez scored again to put Buffalo State up 13-7 with
23 minutes left. Roberts Wesleyan scored four unanswered - including a pair from Sell,
who had seven goals in the game - to get within two.
The Bengals answered with six goals in the next seven minutes - three from Caporizzo,
and one each from Martinez, Shaddock and sophomore midfielder Rebecca Galanti -
and saw their lead grow to eight.
The Raiders scored three times in the last 8:30, but Martinez scored twice to keep the
game out of reach.
"I think we played really well," Caporizzo said. "Our offense was very, very good. We
moved the ball around a lot. On defense, it was a whole new ballgame - they were on
top of everything."
Including last season's 18-11 victory, the Bengals are 2-0 all-time against Roberts
Wesleyan. According to Stevens, this season, the Raiders were a tougher out than before.
"They were definitely better than they were last year," Stevens said. "It's always nice
to beat a Division II team. It says something about Buffalo State and it says something
about Division III lacrosse, how competitive we are. But they were a good team."
The Raiders were a physically superior team, but according to Farrell, that didn't matter.
"They were big girls," Farrell said. "They were really tough and wanted it just as bad as
we did. But we just played harder."
The Bengals outshot Roberts Wesleyan, 31-28. Stevens said one of the keys to victory
for Buffalo State was winning the 50-50 balls, and the box score backs that claim up. The
Bengals held a 33-19 advantage in ground balls.
"I love that we won the 50-50 balls, which for me is ground balls and draw controls,"
Stevens said. "We've been working on that, and I love that we won both categories. I also
love that we spread out the scoring. We had eight different kids score.
"Even though Becca had a great day, the fact that we were able to spread it out is really,
really good. It's just good team ball."
Martinez had a career day, scoring her seven goals on nine shots, including one instance
in the second half when she stuffed an attempted clearance by the Raiders' goalie and
scored on a diving shot.
Martinez leads the Bengals in goals with 12 (on 60 percent shooting) through the first
three games. Even with their hot start, the Bengals still think they can improve.
"I guess I can't complain being 3-0, but I always want it to be better," Stevens said. "I
want it to be prettier, I want it to be better. I want to continue to get better every single
time we step on the field."
Caporizzo also sees room for improvement in some areas.
"There are a ton of things we could have done better," Caporizzo said. "Our transitions
need work, our ride still needs work, and we still need to work on getting the ball back
once we lose it."
While the Bengals may not be perfect on the field yet, three games into the season, they
are still perfect in the standings.
"It feels really good, and I hope we keep it up," Farrell said. "We have two really big
games coming up [against Oberlin and Ithaca] and we need to put it together and play a
lot better than we have been. But I'm glad that we are 3-0."
The Bengals will take on Oberlin at 4 p.m. Friday at Coyer Field before traveling to play
Ithaca at 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Leif Reigstad can be reached by email at reigstad.record@live.com and on Twitter
@LeifReigstad.
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