#39 Alyssa Angelo running with her stick in a game during the 2025 lacrosse season. Photo Courtesy of KSU Athletics
Lacrosse lost to Lindenwood 10–9 on Wednesday night at Walens Family Field at Fifth Third Stadium in a tough game that came down to the final minutes.
The Owls fought on both attack and defense, keeping the game close until the finish.
Lexi Tinker, a senior attacker, scored two goals and assisted on two others for KSU. She also picked up seven ground balls. Her late goal put the squad just one point behind and demonstrated her leadership abilities on the field.
Marleigh Belinfanti and Caleigh Shore, both attackers, also scored, and Belinfanti added an assist. Midfielder Lavona Watkins scored a goal and induced a big turnover, which helped the Owls keep up their momentum.
“Yeah, I believe we did pretty well,” coach Laura Maness said about her team’s performance. “I was happy that we had a couple-goal lead, but it wasn’t a big cushion. I also wish I could change the shots we chose. We had a lot of shots, but their goalie stopped a lot of them. I think we need to be more accurate with our shots if we want to score more goals.”
Maness reflected on how this game compares to previous games this season.
“I think we need to clean up our shot collection, but looking at the stats, you know, we’re clearing the ball well and hustling for ground balls,” Maness said. “Cybella Smith did a wonderful job in the cage. So we’re cleaning up the cards and penalties, and we’re also making sure to move the goaltender around more so they have to work harder to make saves.”
Maness also talked about her plan in the last few minutes of action.
“We had to push out and attempt to get the ball back, even though we were down a man at the end,” Maness said. “We were hoping to clean and repeat because there were still less than two minutes left. The second draw control didn’t go our way, but we wanted to make a play at the end, which was the goal.”
Despite the loss, KSU worked together as a team and proved that it had a lot to build on for the rest of the season. Focusing on where to take shots, cutting down on fouls, and making clean plays will help the Owls get better and compete at a higher level.
KSU will look to get back in the win column in Jacksonville on April 2 at 4 p.m.
