Finally able to hit the field after the winter cold, the women's club lacrosse team went 1-1 in the opening week of the season, beating the University of Maine 8-2 on Saturday to rebound from a 14-9 loss to the University of Rhode Island on Thursday. Before jumping out to a large lead against Maine, the Judges led only 2-1 at halftime. But the Judges outscored the Black Bears 6-1 in the second half for their first win of the season. Captain Kim Libby '05 and Jacqui Goldman '05 each had three goals, while captain Abby Shoolman '07 scored one. Goalie Carly Goteiner '06 made 11 saves on 13 shots.

"[Saturday] was great," Goteiner said. "I think we realized at halftime that we were more skilled than they were, so we decided that we had to pick up the intensity and shoot more and just keep the ball on their side of the field."

But before dispatching Maine, the Judges stumbled on Thursday against the Rams. Brandeis had only one substitute and the shorthanded team was no match for Rhode Island. Shoolman and Goldman led the team with four goals and one assist each while Libby added a goal and an assist. Goteiner had an impressive 11 saves in the loss.

"[Rhode Island] is definitely the best in our league, so we did pretty well against them," Shoolman said. "It was also our first game, so we had to get used to playing together, too."

An older team comprised mostly of seniors, the Judges boast a wide range of experience with team members who have been playing lacrosse since high school to some who picked up a stick for the first time this year. Captains say that the team practices hard but is forced to train mostly indoors due to the lack of field space and inclement weather.

"We have pretty good team chemistry," Goteiner said. "Everyone works very hard, we have great support from our coaches and everyone is really driven to play hard and win."

The Judges often run into roster problems, leaving them shorthanded for many games. With games packed into a tight one-month schedule, there are multiple games each week, often raising academic conflicts for players.

"The fact that we only have three weeks to play all of our games makes it hard for everyone to be there all of the time," Shoolman said. "It's hard because of everyone's class schedule, but because we're a pretty serious club sport, everyone tries to do their best to be there."

The Judges next head to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on Wednesday at 8 p.m.