There are few tastes sweeter than victory, perhaps eclipsed only by the feeling of the first one. Wednesday’s win against Hartford proved to be just that for Central Connecticut’s lacrosse team, marking their first win on the season and head coach Betsy Vendel’s first win as head coach.

The Blue Devils would have to bear the dreaded freezing temps that so often coincide with early season lacrosse; shortly after the opening faceoff, snow began to fall on the Hartford field. Coming off a 20-3 loss in their season opener against Holy Cross, CCSU started off their matchup against the Hawks still looking shaken from their last time out.

Just over a minute into the game, Hartford’s Melissa Gratwicke skidded a shot past Jackie Branthover that took a ground-ball approach to the back of the net. Minutes later, another Hawks goal would fall.

The second goal against the Blue Devils ignited the team. The offensive attack was led by senior Carson Adelberger and freshman Jessica Denike, both connecting on a pair of goals. From that point on, CCSU outscored Hartford 6-1 to end the first half. Junior Morgan Sinton, who led the Blue Devils last year with 28 goals, assisted on three of them.

Denike and the other freshmen Blue Devils looked vetted against the Hawks, responsible for three goals.

“They’re getting those jitters out early. I think they’re seeing now that it’s not a class thing, it’s who is gonna perform and who is gonna execute the way we want to execute. I think they’re bought in and ready to go,” Vendel said of the young players’ development.

The second half saw more success for the Hawks, but the Blue Devils were far from outmatched. Adelberger would land her fifth goal to secure a hat trick, before scoring her fourth, then fifth goal of the game. Adelberger scored a third of her goal total last season (15) in just one impressive game in February.

The Hawks would try to fight back with a late 4-1 run but were ultimately handled by the Blue Devils, who won 11-8. This was a promising sign for the team, who only scored in double digits four times last year.

“It feels great. This is only the beginning of what this team can do, and I think now that they see that, it’s only up from here,” Vendel said of her first win at her alma mater.

The same success could not be found in CCSU’s away match against Niagra. The Purple Eagles scored just 23 seconds into the game and did little looking back after. Similar to their loss against Holy Cross, the loss could be explained through the shot disparage. CCSU was only able to put up 16 shots against Niagra, who attempted 39.

Held scoreless for over 20 minutes to start the game, Sinton finally broke the goose egg with 7:51 left in the half. She would lead the Blue Devils with two goals, both of which coming in the first. Only one other goal was tacked on for CCSU in the half, getting outscored 8-3.

The second half proved to mirror the first. Adelberger would connect on a goal, giving her six on the year. However, the Blue Devils again only put up three goals while Niagra, again, scored eight, resulting in a 16-6 loss.

The Blue Devils will have their home opener Friday when they take on New Hampshire. The Wildcats are coming off two impressive road wins against UConn and Sacred Heart, making for another challenging early season game.