The women’s lacrosse team (4-7 overall, 1-3 Patriot League), notched its first Patriot League win on Saturday, taking down the Boston Terriers (4-6 overall, 0-4 Patriot League) 10-9 in double overtime.
Boston opened the scoring early in the first quarter but the Leopards were quick to respond, courtesy of a goal from junior attacker Sara Rogers.
The Terriers then went on to score two additional goals. With little time in the half left, senior midfielder Abby Romano scored twice to tie the score. The Leopards capitalized on this momentum with junior attacker Haleigh Albrecht scoring to make the game 4-3 at the half.
In the third quarter, the Leopards’ relentless defense would be broken, with Boston scoring three. Despite the concessions, the junior attacking pair of Emma Elmen and Albrecht helped the Leopards regain their lead, going into the final quarter up 7-6.
Scoring “two goals for our team helped us play confidently,” Elmen said. “It was cool to see everyone contribute so positively.”
In the final quarter, Boston would outscore the Leopards 3-2, with regulation ending at 9-9, forcing the game into overtime.
“The team fought so hard until the very end,” sophomore defender Jordan Siemonsen said.
With the first period of overtime scoreless, the game was either team’s to take.
“Going into overtime, the team was composed and focused,” Elmen said. “We all knew we wanted to win and knew that if we played confidently, then we would.”
Thankfully, Romano broke through the Terriers defense in the second period of overtime and scored the golden goal, securing the victory for the Leopards.
This marks the first Patriot League win for the team, which dropped its first three matches.
“So many people stepped up during the game, including our goalie, [senior] Lexie Coldiron, and senior Abby Romano, who scored the game-winning goal,” Siemonsen said. “It was super exciting getting our first Patriot League win.”
The Leopards currently sit seventh out of 10 in the Patriot League standings, despite having the fewest goals and points per game in the league, a testament to their strong defense and goalie.
Despite these concerning statistics, the Leopards have shown they can perform — they have the highest recorded shots and saves in a game this season, versus Central Connecticut State University and Columbia University, respectively.
“As a team, we are looking forward to getting a few more wins under our belt and making it to the Patriot League tournament,” Siemonsen said.
The Leopards will face nationally-ranked No. 8 Loyola Maryland on Saturday at 4 p.m. in Fisher Stadium for Miracle League Day.
“It will be fun to show everyone what Lafayette lacrosse is made of this weekend,” Elmen said.