ROSEMONT - In the end, there was laughter. There were smiles and hugs as well.

What the scoreboard read - Immaculata 17, Rosemont 0 - in this first game of the 2019 Ravens' women's lacrosse season didn't really matter all that much in the grand scheme of things. Just the fact that the program was back on the field after a year away from action was something worth celebrating.

It has been a long road back for the Rosemont program that missed 2018 because of staffing issues. What has come together in 2019 is a program made up of players spread across the school's sports landscape- some soccer players, some volleyball players, a few with connections to the highly successful women's basketball program- that is enjoying the experience of playing with one another under new head coach Shae Risley.

Saturday's game was one that went according to form against an Immaculata squad that went to the Colonial States Athletic Conference semifinals a season ago and posted a 20-4 record. The Mighty Macs were able to show the wealth of experience that they had, tallying seven goals in the first eight minutes of the game and never really getting contested after that.

Again, that was somewhat secondary, however. A lot of what has taken place here has been teaching moments for the Ravens program. It is about trying to develop something along the way that could end up being extremely positive down the road. And a lot of that has to do with just being positive together. 

And so, when the day was over, it was good to see Rosemont enjoying a moment that could have been a tough one to take. It bodes well for what could happen down the road. Because the first step after a long year away was taken on Saturday. And that was the most important result of all.