SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—The Allegheny College women's lacrosse team defeated Wittenberg University in a thrilling 17-16 overtime North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) game Saturday (April 8).
Alexa Maloney scored the game winning goal late in the extra session off an assist from
Maddie Olson.
The game started at a furious pace as the Tigers netted a pair of goals in the opening minute. About thirty seconds after the second goal,
Shelby Piper got the Gators on the board off a feed from Olson. The pace slowed down as the next goal scored by Wittenberg did not come until three minutes later. Olson netted her first goal of the game around the nine minute mark of the half to cut the lead down to 3-2.
Over the next nine minutes, the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to move ahead 6-2.
Following the Tigers' run, Piper went on a run of her own, scoring three straight unassisted goals to bring the game within one goal, 6-5, once again.
After the Tigers pushed their advantage to 7-5,
Sarah Basden scored off another assist from Olson. With just under three minutes to play in the half, Olson scored unassisted to tie the game at seven. Thirty seconds later, the Tigers regained the lead.
In the final minute, the Gators scored a pair of goals to lead for the first time in the game.
Lexi Einsig scored the first off the goals unassisted. With 28 seconds to go, Piper found the back of the net for the fifth time of the half as the Gators took a 9-8 lead into the half.
Early in the second half, Alex Zielinksi extended the Gators lead to 10-8 off an assist by
Shelby Piper. After the Tigers notched a goal to cut the lead to one, Einsig netted her second goal of the game to make it 11-9.
The back-and-forth play continued as the Tigers answered the Gator goal once again. After
Taylor Vigneri won the ensuing draw, she earned a free position shot and found twine.
The Tigers tied the game at 12 with a pair of goals.
Maloney regained the lead for the Gators, 13-12, on an extra man free-position goal midway through the half. Three minutes after Maloney's goal, Piper scored for the sixth time to bring the lead to 14-12.
The Tigers continued to keep the game close as they pulled within one goal once again two minutes later.
With less than 10 minutes to go, Olson scored off a Piper assist to push the lead to 15-13. Forty seconds after the goal, the duo connected on another goal to give the Gators their biggest lead of the game, 16-13. However, the Tigers scored three unanswered down the final stretch of regulation to send the game into overtime.
The Gators had the first attempts in the extra session but Tiger goalie Mary Furlong made a pair of saves to keep them alive. Breanna Donnelly had a chance to win it for the Tigers but hit a post.
Following the hit post, the Gators cleared it and called a timeout. After setting up the play, Olson found Maloney for the goal with just two seconds left in the overtime period to give the Gators the 17-16 win.
Piper finished the game with nine points on six goals, three assists. Olson had eight points on an even split of four goals, four assists. Einsig and Maloney had a pair of goals apiece while Basden, Zielinski and Vigneri also found the back of the nets.
The Gators outshot the Tigers 38-34. Throughout the game, the Tigers received six yellow cards, which the Gators turned into three man-up goals.
Kaelin Clogan picked up the win in net for the Gators, making 10 saves.
Laurence Busque led the Gator defenders with four caused turnovers and four groundballs.
Jessie Thiessen led the Gators with seven draw controls.
The Gators are back in action Tuesday (April 11) at Oberlin College.
