ALFRED, NY – The Alfred University women's lacrosse team kicked off its season on Saturday afternoon in Yunevich Stadium. The Saxons (0-1, 0-0 Empire 8) played host to Juniata College and ended up falling to the Eagles by a score of 21-3.
 
Juniata was quick to get on the board with its first goal coming within the first minute of play.
 
The Saxons broke through at the 5:41 mark with an unassisted goal from Taylor Miller (Medina, NY/Medina) making the score 5-1 in favor on Juniata with 19:45 to play in the first half.
 
Hannah McNamara (Alden, NY/Alden) converted a free position goal with 4:21 left to play in the first half to make the score 9-2. At the end of the first half Juniata led Alfred 13-2.
 
The Saxons were shut out for a majority of the second half until Miller notched her second goal of the game to make it 19-3.

"We're very excited to kick off the season. We have a fairly young team right now, and this game was all about exploring combinations and testing our depth across the field," Head Coach Erin McGaffigan said. "We had some fantastic moments, and it was very impressive to see how well our first year players were able to adjust to the level of play and complete connections across the field. Our focus moving into our next few games will be fine-tuning our combinations and communication as we grow together. I'm very excited to continue to see us develop as a team."
 
AU tightened up the defense and held off the Eagles for the final five minutes of the game.
 
Alfred will be off for a short period before traveling to Thiel College on March 2 for a 1PM matchup with the Tomcats.