With the cold weather that had caused the women’s lacrosse team to schedule their first two games in Augsburg’s heated dome making a sudden reappearance and the temperature hovering in the mid 30s, the Pipers (5-5) put on a scorching performance Tuesday, April 5. Scoring ten of the final 11 goals in the first half allowed the Pipers to build a commanding 14-3 lead into halftime against the visiting Northwestern (MN) Eagles and the Pipers cruised to an 18-5 victory.

Six Pipers tallied goals in the victory, with seven goals going to sophomore midfielder Dana Almquist, four to first-year midfielder Lexus Tatge, three to first-year attacker Alycia Monserrate Novotny, two to senior midfielder Jordan Nielsen, and one apiece to first-year attacker Maddie Brown and sophomore attacker Katie Pearson. Brown currently leads the Pipers in goals (29), assists (11), points (40), and shots on goal (45).

“We wanted to play smart lacrosse,” head coach Karen Heggernes said. “Most times of the game, we controlled the tempo and the pace, but we made a few critical errors and they went down and scored each time. It was more about controlling the tempo because there was never a moment where we felt comfortable. We want our players to be confident, not comfortable.”

The Pipers had designated their first two games of the season as home games, but as those games were played in late February and early March, Augsburg allowed Hamline to play its first two home games in their heated dome. The Pipers shifted their home games to Klas and they had an excellent first performance in front of the home crowd.

“It was awesome to play in front of the home crowd for the first time,” said Brown. “People don’t really know about girls lacrosse but people showed up for us and it took a lot for people to come out to the game with how cold it was.”

Brown toughed out the Northwestern game, as the cold can make it tough for lacrosse players to execute properly.

“I can’t wear gloves because they make my hands go numb, but I had to wear gloves because it was so cold,” Brown said. “Your stick is metal and it’s really cold and the best you can do is hope you can catch the ball with your stick and just be happy with that.”

Heggernes was pleased with the team’s first performance in front of the home crowd on Hamline turf.

“It was amazing and deserves a shoutout to athletic director Jason Verdugo for highlighting the event, Hamline SAAC board for promoting the game as part of DIII week, great support from the faculty, parents, and the opponents’ fans and parents and showed a taste of what Hamline lacrosse is all about,” Heggernes. “It was a chilly night so I want to thank everyone for coming out.”

Dominant play has highlighted the Pipers’ wins thus far. In their five wins, the team has scored on average 16.4 goals per game and allowed just four goals per game. In their five losses, the games have been tougher on the Pipers, as they have scored just 8.4 goals per game while allowing 13.8.

“Our team as a whole has gotten better with each game we’ve played,” said sophomore defender Kenzie Foster. “Even in our losses we’ve taken things out of them and have worked towards new goals.”

The team has taken to using this season as a development and implementation-focused season and learning how to adjust to the differences from the club game and the competitive level.

“We’ve been focusing on our fundamentals, focusing on our passing and our quickness to ground balls and we capitalized on that against Northwestern,” Lannon said. “We’re also building on our chemistry together so as the season progresses the more we recognize how we work together the more we are able to capitalize on that.”

With the Pipers up by ten goals the entire second half and running time in effect, the offense cut back and focused on their fundamentals.

“They only scored five goals but they pushed us a lot harder than we thought they would,” said Foster. “They made us a better team. They made us try to catch every pass, every drop they were there.”

With the mix of new talent and with the holdovers from the club team, players will continue to develop this year as they continue on in the second half of their season.

“Trusting your teammates is one of the biggest things I’ve learned while playing here at Hamline,” said Brown. “In high school I was on a very talented team and the trust was there and we were really successful. Changing teams is really difficult and coming here you have to learn that your teammate will be there for you and catch your passes.”

The Pipers play next on Friday, April 15 against Augsburg at Klas Field. The game time is 5:00 p.m.