Lady Warriors Grind Out Comeback Victory
Late Surge Clinches Playoff Berth in Regional Debut
Box Score

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. --- It was a day of celebration on all ends for the Lycoming College women’s lacrosse team as the Lady Warriors came back from a late two-goal deficit to defeat Elizabethtown College 10-9 on Wednesday afternoon.  The victory clinched a Middle Atlantic Conference playoff berth for Lycoming, who also debuted as the sixth ranked team by the NCAA in the Metro Region.  The Lady Warriors are now 11-2 overall, 7-1 in MAC play.  The Blue Jays fall to 4-10, 3-5.

Etown put Lycoming in a bit of a hole with just under nine minutes to play by notching their third straight score to open a 9-7 lead.  Sophomore Megan Wallenhorst (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) got the comeback train rolling with a free position goal with 8:29 to play.  Junior Cassie Mocyk (Baldwinsville, N.Y./Charles W. Baker) equaled the task by taking advantage of a second costly Blue Jay foul to take advantage of her free position attempt and tie the score 9-9 at the 5:33 mark.

Spirited defense on both ends kept the score knotted for several minutes, but Lycoming’s relentless pressure broke through with 1:33 showing on the scoreboard.  Wallenhorst collected a solid service from sophomore Heather Suit (Annapolis, Md./Broadneck) and sent a right-handed screamer past the keeper into the far side netting give Lycoming a 10-9 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

Wallenhorst led all scorers with six goals and two assists to bring her season total to 58 goals and 61 total points.  Mocyk’s tally marked her third of the campaign.  Freshmen Sarah Wingerden (Macedon, N.Y./Palmyra-Macedon), Kelly Mack (New Egypt, N.J./New Egypt), and Kelli Morsey (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) each scored once to account for the remaining Lycoming goals.  First year defender Cailin Harvey (Rochester, N.Y./Irondequoit) picked up her second assist of the year.

Play in the opening thirty minutes was a bit dicey for the Lady Warriors.  After Etown moved out to a 1-0 lead with a little less than seven minutes gone, Wallenhorst and Wingerden put Lycoming ahead with goals just seconds apart to give the blue and gold a 2-1 edge with 16:34 to play.  The Blue Jays countered with three unanswered goals from three different players to push out to a 4-2 advantage by the 4:02 mark.

Mack and Wallenhorst picked up two more before the end of the frame, but Elizabethtown sandwiched one in between to carry a 5-4 lead into the intermission.

Wallenhorst and Morsey quickly erased the one-goal deficit with a goal apiece with only 3:08 ticked off the game clock.  The Blue Jays tied the score for the fourth time with 23:35 on the clock, but Wallenhorst regained Lycoming’s edge 7-6 less than four minutes late off a feed from Harvey.

Elizabethtown firmed up both its attack and defense over the next 11 minutes in which the Blue Jays rattled off three unanswered scores.  Katie DiRico came away with two of the tallies to mark her third and fourth of the contest including Etown’s final goal with 8:55 to play.

Lycoming is next in action on Saturday, April 22, as the Lady Warriors host Drew University in what is sure to be a heated MAC battle.  Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.  Depending on future schedules, the winner of Saturday’s contest will enjoy a #2 seed in the upcoming postseason tournament and first round bye into the semifinals.