Women's Lacrosse celebrate a goal on the field against Howard University in their season home opener
15
Lafayette LAFW 1-9, 0-2
16
Winner American AMERICAN 5-3, 1-0
Lafayette LAFW
1-9, 0-2
15
Final
16
American AMERICAN
5-3, 1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Lafayette LAFW 6 7 2 0 15
American AMERICAN 5 3 6 2 16

Game Recap: Lacrosse |

Lacrosse Wins Over Lafayette in Dramatic Fashion to Open League Play with a Win

WASHINGTON – A tide-turning 8-2 second half run by the Eagles, along with eight saves by junior goalkeeper Mary Alice Collins, was a sensational way for the American University lacrosse team (5-3, 1-0 PL) to open conference play when they took on Lafayette College (1-9, 0-2 PL) Saturday afternoon, winning 16-15.

BY THE NUMBERS
  • Juniors Hannah Spease and Becca Frank both scored three goals on five shots apiece in the contest; each also picked up two ground balls. For Spease, this is her third game in a row with a hat-trick scoring performance, and she added two caused turnovers and three draw controls to her line on the stat sheet as well.
  • Four Eagles each had a brace. Freshmen standouts Annabelle Jackson and Kellie Linehan along with sophomore Alyssa Apuzzo and senior Emma Hare added a total of eight goals for American. Linehan also grabbed an assist and the game winner, firing one into the goal with 1:17 left to play to earn the Eagles the win.
  • Freshman Reagan Murdoch and sophomore attacker Maddy Spratt each added one more to the total score for American and Spratt led the way for the Eagles when she tabbed three assists on the afternoon.
  • Collins finished the contest with 12 total saves, eight of which came in the second half, two of which were on free position shots fired in by the Leopards with less than a minute to play in regulation.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • It was Linehan who opened the scoring for the day, dropping a goal in less than a minute into the opening frame before Lafayette scored two in a row, leading 2-1 before Jackson leveled everything at 2-all five minutes in.
  • The goal scoring in the first period was back and forth after that, with the Leopards grabbing a woman-up goal before Hare, assisted by Spratt, again put the two teams level at 3-all.
  • Lafayette then scored two in a row, up 5-3 before American notched two of their own, first Spratt with a solo effort and then Spease with her first of the day on an assist from Linehan. With 24 seconds left in the first, the Leopards added another goal and the first frame closed with the Eagles trailing, 5-6.
  • The second period was when the winds shifted almost entirely in Lafayette's favor. The Leopards opened with a goal, before American got two more–one from Spease and one from Apuzzo–to tie it all up again at seven. Then, though, the Leopards went on a 6-0 run to lead 13-7.
  • With just eight seconds left in the half though, Frank on a solo effort, cut through the momentum Lafayette had gained and took one back for the Eagles who trailed by five, 8-13, at the halftime break.
  • Coming out of the break, it was all American. It took three minutes, but Jackson wove and dodged between three defenders to get her shot off and make a dent in the Lafayette lead.
  • The Leopards then scored again to go back up to their five-goal lead, but Hare and Frank each with their second goals of the game, put the Eagles within three, down 11-14.
  • Lafayette tried to maintain the lead though with a goal to put the deficit back to four, the Eagles trailing 11-15.
  • To finish out the third, the Eagles made another run, scoring three unanswered with goals from Murdoch, Apuzzo, and Spease, who was assisted by Spratt with 10 seconds left in the penultimate frame. The Eagles were now back within one, down 14-15.
  • With eight minutes to go in the contest Spratt again passed the ball, this time to Frank who shot a dagger, over-the-shoulder, no-look shot that knotted the game once again, 15-all.
  • Unassisted, Linehan would sink the game-winning goal with just 1:17 left to play before Collins would make two saves on free position shots to ensure the Leopards didn't equalize or even more ahead, claiming the conference opening victory for the Eagles.
UP NEXT
The Eagles will be heading back out on the road to take on Holy Cross in Worcester on Saturday, March 25 at 3 p.m. before returning home to Jacobs Complex in two weeks' time on Saturday, April 1 to take on Army at noon in what will be the commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the 2003 Patriot League Championship winning team.

KEEP UP WITH US
For the latest on American University lacrosse, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@au_lacrosse) and Instagram (@au_wlax).
 
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