When a team’s back is against the wall, how they respond speaks volumes about both the coaching and players.

After losing another close contest to the Geneseo Knights (7-3) Wednesday afternoon, Buffalo State women’s lacrosse team found a way to answer back with a big win Friday against the New Paltz Hawks for their fourth win of the season. Four games have been within a two-goal difference this season, proving the little things can make or break the outcome of each game.

Head coach Lindsay Abbott has seen vast improvement as the season progresses.

“We are improving with each game,” she said. “We have done a good job learning from our mistakes and setting certain goals game by game.”

Wednesday’s contest saw Geneseo take a quick 4-1 lead. Buffalo State rallied back with three unanswered goals to tie the Knights heading into halftime.

Both teams exchanged flurries of offensive chances in the first half as shots were fairly even at 11-9 in slight favor of Geneseo.

The Knights grabbed the momentum early in the second half, scoring four unanswered to take an 8-4 lead. The Bengals came all the way within one, but with only 54 seconds remaining, the full comeback was not possible.

Friday was a different story against a struggling 3-6 New Paltz team. Buffalo State claimed their fourth victory with a 14-4 win against the Hawks.

Sophomore attacker Alanna Herne scored the first three goals of the game to set the tone. Herne had a combined 14 points this week, which lifted her to second in the SUNYAC.

Herne believes with that with team chemistry improving, Buffalo State can become a legitimate threat in the SUNYAC.

“These past few games, we have been playing more like a team,” she said. “We have always had the talent to be successful, but now that we are working together better, we are going to put together more wins.”

The Bengals outshot New Paltz 28-13, but the bigger factor was the turnovers. New Paltz had 27 total turnovers and couldn’t seem to overcome the mistakes.

Buffalo State jumped out to a 10-3 lead and eventually pushed the lead to 10.

Senior attacker Sarah Lorusso contributed in almost every category for Buffalo State, scoring three times, adding an assist, causing five turnovers, netting four ground balls and registering three draw controls.

Statistically speaking, it was one of the best all-around performances for the Bengals this season. The team received scoring contributions from five different players.

“We needed a good win, and the team was willing to go out and take care of the game. It was exactly what we needed,” Abbott said.

Despite a slow 4-7 start to the season, Buffalo State has three players in the top ten in the SUNYAC in goals, assists per game and shots per game.

Defense has been the bigger issue as the Bengals have given up more goals than any other SUNYAC team.

Buffalo State returns to the field Tuesday as they get set for a big road test against Brockport (9-0). The Golden Eagles are coming off a dominating 16-2 victory over the Oneonta Red Dragons (3-7).

Limiting turnovers and possessing the ability to create chances on a consistent basis will be crucial in Buffalo State’s upset attempt.

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