MEADVILLE, Pa. -- The 2024 Allegheny College women's lacrosse season came to a heartbreaking conclusion on Thursday night in the semifinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Tournament, as the Gators fell in overtime against Grove City College, 14-13.

Allegheny (9-7), the second seed in the PAC Championship Tournament, shrugged off two second-half runs by the third-seeded Wolverines (14-5) to force overtime. And to the dismay of the Gator faithful in attendance at the Robertson Athletic Complex on a gorgeous evening, the officiating crew made an objectionable call to disallow what would have been the game-winning goal in the extra period.

The Gators started strong and raced out to an early 5-2 lead with five minutes to go in the first half. From there, however, the Wolverines found their stride and shifted the momentum heavily in their favor with six unanswered goals. By the midway mark of the third quarter, Grove City led 8-5.

Ema Caragein (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) brought Allegheny back into contention by scoring three of the next four goals, including a go-ahead tally that put the Gators back on top, 9-8. The two sides traded goals from there until the Wolverines scored three in a row to pull ahead 13-11.

Katherine Surdykowski (Chesterfield, N.J./Northern Burlington County Regional) and Lauren Petrarca (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) scored twice in the last five minutes of the fourth to even the score. Petrarca's tying goal was the result of a wild series of events in the last two minutes. Coming out of a timeout with 1:14 remaining in regulation, Grove City goalie Elyse Kiggins made an errant pass that allowed Allegheny to regain possession deep within its offensive zone. On a restart, Petrarca dodged multiple defenders while cutting toward the middle of the field and then released a low bouncing shot with 13 seconds on the clock to force overtime.

Petrarca thought she had the winner in overtime as well. After spinning off a defender and falling to the ground, she somehow managed to get a shot on target and into the back of the net past an unsuspecting Kiggins. Despite not making any contact with a Grove City defender as she fell, the officials called a charge on the play.

Given new life, Grove City's Gwen Shilling scored the winner on a free position attempt with 1:21 left in the first overtime period.

Inside the Box Score

• As evidenced by the final score, Thursday's semifinal matchup was evenly matched.
• Allegheny recorded more shots (33-to-29) and more ground balls (25-to-23), but the Wolverines won the draw-control battle (18-to-14).
• Surdykowski led all Gators with a career-high eight points (5g-3a) in addition to five draws, five caused turnovers, and four ground balls.
• Caragein scored three goals with one assist for four points.
• Petrarca (2g-1a) and Ashley Amato (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) (1g-1a) also had multiple points.
• Emily Herrold (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) scored one goal and had a team-high eight draws.
• Kendall Cox (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) rounded out Allegheny's offense with one goal.
• On defense, Sybi Gerhart (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) caused three turnovers and picked up four ground balls.
• Attacker Kennedy Kyle (Seven Fields, Pa./Seneca Valley) led all Gators with five ground balls.
• Nazigian put Grove City on her back and amassed eight goals with 11 draw controls, six ground balls, and four caused turnovers.

News and Notes

• Allegheny finishes the 2024 campaign with a 9-7 overall record.
• The semifinal loss snapped an eight-game win streak for the Gators, who suffered their first defeat since March 30.
• Gerhart and Petrarca were both named to the PAC All-Tournament Team.
• Despite the loss, Allegheny leads the all-time series against Grove City, 4-1.
• Surdykowski's eight points are a single-game career-best.
• Petrarca ended her junior season tied with Kelly Dickson '14 for sixth-place all-time in program history with 151 career goals.
• Sarah Thorman (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) will graduate third all-time in saves with 361.