SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Lehigh women’s lacrosse team jumped out to a 5-1 halftime lead before Bryant came all the way back to tie the score at eight, but sophomore Allison LaBeau scored her fifth goal of the game with just 4.5 seconds remaining to give the Mountain Hawks a thrilling 9-8 win on a snowy Saturday afternoon. The win snapped Bryant’s four-game winning streak as Lehigh downed the defending NEC Champions. LaBeau now has 11 goals over her last two games. The Mountain Hawks wrap up their three-game-in-five-day stretch a perfect 3-0 as they improve to 6-5 overall.
“I’m so proud of our team today,” said Lehigh head coach Jill Redfern. “The schedule that we’ve had this week has been grueling .We finished off this game and we couldn’t be happier.”
Junior Kendall Garden enjoyed a strong game with two goals, four groundballs, three draw controls and a caused turnover. Senior Carli Sukonik and sophomore Lauren Beausoleil scored Lehigh’s other goals while freshman Kierstyn Voiro tallied two assists.
Lehigh got off to a fast start, scoring five of the six first-half goals. After the teams traded goals, Garden scored to give the Mountain Hawks a 2-1 lead with 21:09 on the clock before LaBeau tallied a natural hat trick to end the half. Three straight LaBeau goals, including one with just eight seconds on the clock, made it 5-1 after 30 minutes of play.
After trading the first four second-half goals, the Bulldogs went on a 5-1 run including three straight in the span of 1:37 to even the score at eight with 2:41 remaining. The Mountain Hawks won the ensuing draw and held for the final shot, which LaBeau buried.
“We’re really playing well and we’re unified on the offensive and defensive sides,” said Redfern. “We’re fighting so hard for one another.”
The Mountain Hawks finished with a 21-15 edge in shots and 15-9 advantage in groundballs. Bryant held a 13-6 edge in draw controls. Sophomore Taylor Tvedt made four saves for the Mountain Hawks while a pair of Bulldogs combined for 10 stops.
“This is a tremendous team. They’re really peaking at the right time,” said Redfern. “I want to shout out our entire coaching staff, including Eric (Markovcy), Julie (Ammary), Greg (Scullin), Shannon (McHugh) and Sammy (Cermack) for having this team get all these wins in a row. It’s really tough to be prepared for this many games in this short period of time. Lots of credit goes to our whole staff.”
The Mountain Hawks will look to continue the momentum on Tuesday when they travel to Rutgers to face the Scarlett Knights. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
Like Lehigh Women’s Lacrosse on Facebook and follow on Twitter for exclusive content, team updates and more.
In 2009, Adam O’Neill, Harry Alford and Thomas Alford launched Lacrosse Playground as the preeminent site for lacrosse gearheads. For years Lacrosse Playground provided lacrosse fans with tutorials and tips on how to string a lacrosse head, up-close looks at the gear the top players used and sneak peeks at equipment and uniforms before they were released. More than 10 years and millions of visits later, Lacrosse Playground has relaunched with a focus on storytelling. Our mission is to provide comprehensive coverage of the latest lacrosse news, share insights into the sports betting and fantasy lacrosse world and showcase the lifestyles and personalities of the sport of lacrosse through articles, videos and podcasts.
Oliver Marti: Starting an NLL Team in Albany and Investing in the PLL and Epoch Lacrosse (Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast #130)
byPro Lacrosse Talk
On this episode of the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast, Hutton Jackson and Adam Moore are joined by three-time All-American at Brown University, investor in the PLL, and the newest NLL owner Oliver Marti. He discusses moving the New England Black Wolves franchise to Albany, New York, why the city of Albany was chosen and share his thoughts on the team’s potential new identity. He also discusses his time playing for Dom Starsia at Brown University, playing for the New York Saints in the MILL, starting the Connecticut Box Lacrosse League, investing in the Premier Lacrosse League and equipment manufacturer Epoch Lacrosse, and his opinion on the current state of pro lacrosse.
—
Pro Lacrosse Talk is the flagship lacrosse podcast of the Lacrosse Playground network covering all three professional lacrosse leagues (NLL, PLL, Athletes Unlimited). Each week throughout the season we’ll recap the games, provide analysis on the teams and feature exclusive postgame and off-the-field interviews with professional lacrosse players, coaches and executives. If you’re a fan of lacrosse podcasts like the Unbuckled Chinstrap, The Inside Feed, Lacrosse Classified or The Crease Dive, then give us a listen.