In a March 24 game, the women’s lacrosse team enjoyed a one-sided win against Hollins University, and began to set their eyes on the upcoming Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament.The team delivered a 13-1 victory, improving their record to 5-3 overall, 2-1 in the conference.

Hollins was no match for the Quakers, but head coach Matt Grosso has never taken a win for granted.

“Every ODAC game is important,” Grosso said. “With this win and our previous win over Sweet Briar, our seating in the playoff tournament is guaranteed.”

First-year attacker Emily Egan and sophomore attacker Summer Frazier both scored twice during the match, Egan’s first goal coming less than 30 seconds into the game. At halftime, the Quakers held a 9-0 lead.

With a demanding advantage, the halftime speech focused on setting boundaries and using the game as an opportunity to improve.

“There is a slaughter rule, which restricts the amount of goals we could add up,” Grosso noted.

So, in a display of sportsmanship and good-natured competition, Grosso set restrictions for his team.

“I told them they needed 20 consecutive passes before they could attack the goal and that we’d be on the sideline counting,” Grosso said.

In addition, Grosso made a full lineup change, taking out senior top scorers Shelly Nogueira (15 goals) and Carrie Ernst (25 goals).

“It was an opportunity for the rookies to find rhythm, to have patience and to find patterns that work on the field,” Ernst said.

Patience on offense is an aspect of the game that the team has focused on lately in practices.

“Better ball control and not allowing unforced errors,” Grosso said in regards to next steps for the team. “We need to be able to effectively run our offensive and defensive sets.”

“If we can translate how we want to play into practice, we can dominate any game we find ourselves in,” said senior goalie Alyzza-May Callahan, who made two saves in goal before giving way to first-year Liza Mettler, who had five stops in the second half.

The Quakers dropped an ODAC match to Lynchburg College (7-2, 2-1) on March 27, 11-9, but will face another ODAC competitor, Randolph-Macon College (4-1, 2-0) on April 3.

“It’s anybody’s game,” said Grosso. “This is the best time of the year for me.