By Justin Paley
This was not the ending the No. 12 Pride women’s lacrosse team wanted on Senior Day. The Pride was looking to end its regular season on a high note against the Boston College (BC) Eagles, but the Eagles instead played the role of spoilers, defeating the Pride, 8-7, in a double- overtime thriller on Sunday at Shuart Stadium.
Carley St. Lucia scored her third goal of the game with 1:37 left in the second overtime to lead the Eagles to the victory. Pride senior midfielder Tara Buecker fired a shot over the net with 2:21 left, but referees awarded BC ball after ruling that an Eagles’ player was closer when it went out of bounds, which paved the way for St. Lucia’s game winner.
“With BC’s high pressure defense and pressure behind the cage, they really just took us out of our game,” Pride head coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe said. “I’m glad the game happened and we were put in that situation because we know we have to go into the CAA [Colonial Athletic Association] Tournament playing with no regrets putting everything out on the line.”
The top-seeded Pride will face the fourth-seeded University of Delaware on Saturday in the CAA Tournament semifinal at noon, while Towson University will take on George Mason University in the other semifinal. The Pride defeated all three teams this year, including an 11-9 win at Delaware.
“We’re coming up against a hungry opponent and it’s going to be a good competition. I think our team will be ready and focused,” Klaes-Bawcombe said.
In a game that could definitely be categorized as a seesaw battle, junior midfielder Becky Thorn started the scoring by netting her team-leading 35th goal of the season on a pass from Jill Wienecke a little over three minutes into the game.
Eagles sophomore Katie Wagoner countered with a goal of her own and tied the game at one with 22:10 left in the first half putting a shot past Pride senior goalie Lisa Papa.
After a couple of minutes of back- and-forth action, Pride senior midfielder Mary Romano found the back of the net off an assist from sophomore midfielder Casey McGrath with 19:46 left in the first half. The play entailed great teamwork and a multitude of passes from the front offensive line. Buecker’s pass to Romano put the finishing touches on a well-executed drive.
Both teams had shot opportunities over the next few minutes but each goalie came up with big saves, which set up a game-tying goal by Wagoner with 9:01 left in the second quarter, prompting a frustrated Klaes-Bawcombe to call a timeout.
Whatever she said must have worked as junior attack Catherine Guerriere fired a shot over the left shoulder of BC goalie Courtney Zwirko, giving the Pride a 3-2 lead with 8:35 left in the first half.
Wienecke gave the Pride a two-goal advantage at 4-2, bouncing a free position shot into the net with 6:34 remaining until halftime.
BC senior attack Courtney Legath followed with a shot over the right shoulder of Papa to pull the Eagles within 4-3 with 3:27 left in the first half. With 11 seconds left in the half, Papa saved a free position shot from Libby Schuville and the Pride trudged to the locker room clinging to a 4-3 lead.
Thorn scored her second goal of the game only 51 seconds into the second half, bouncing a shot into the net and giving her team a 5-3 lead. However, BC capitalized on two Pride turnovers, scoing the next two goals to tie the game at five with 22:02 left in the second half. After Buecker gave the Pride the lead at 6-5 with a little over 17 minutes left, St. Lucia scored again as Papa came out of goal to try to defend the shot.
It would have been fitting if Connolly’s goal with 8:36 left that gave the Pride a 7-6 lead would have been the game winner, but it was not meant to be as Breaznell scored her second goal of the game with 5:23 left.
Zwirko made a risky move coming out of the cage to intercept Guerrire’s pass with 3:22 left. BC moved up-field and passed the ball around holding for a final shot, but the Eagles never got a shot off before time expired.
In the first overtime, the Pride had two shots as Wienecke was left wide open in front of the net and Zwirko made a point-blank save. Then with 17 seconds left, Connolly’s blast was stopped.