COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. - The Dickinson women's lacrosse team entered Saturday's regular-season finale at Ursinus College knowing that a victory was a must-have if they had visions of making next week's Centennial Conference Tournament. Things could not have started better for the Red and White as they took an early 7-2 lead, however, the Devils were unable to hold on as the Bears rallied back for a 17-15 win at Patterson Field.
Things started off with a bang as just over two minutes in there was a combined four goals as
Liv Yeagle and
Liz Barroll solved UC goalie Alexa Machado, while Ashley Noto and Julia McCann beat
Peyton VanDorpe. Dickinson then went on a quick three-goal flurry as
Emma Wynne,
Delaney Herbert and Barroll all cashed in off of three straight draw control wins by
Caroline Pirone and Herbert to make it 5-2 with 9:3 left. After a yellow card was given out to Herbert, the home side had the next four shots with VanDorpe denying Mary Michaud on a free-position chance. That stop led to the Red Devils striking two more times thanks to
Bella Guckes and
Gabby Guadalupe to extend the gap to five (7-2). However, the Bears went on a four-goal rampage over the final 1:50 to close within 7-6 through one.
It took Ursinus just 18-seconds into the second to get all the way back as McCann hit the net.
Izzy Hall popped the ball free from Noto on the ensuing UC possession which led to
Faith Parker hitting Yeagle for the tally. Then, 29-ticks later Wynne buried the rock behind Machado after
Jenna Nowland claimed the draw. Dickinson tried to be the first team to double-digits with four minutes off the clock, but Wynne was shutdown by the keeper. That save turned the momentum back in the Bears favor as they scored three times over the next five minutes to reclaim a slim 10-9 edge. After a DC draw control victory by Guadalupe both her and Herbert were turned aside by the keeper, before Herbert stuck a free-position shot to the back of the cage to draw level. Each keeper posted one more stop over the following two minutes, before Wynne setup Herbert to the go-ahead goal heading into halftime.
Dickinson came out of the break "on fire" as both Pirone and Herbert forced UC turnovers to prevent the home side from taking a shot. That stellar defensive effort allowed the trio of Guckes (Herbert assist), Herbert (Wynne assist) and Yeagle (
Riley Kuehn assist) to each best Machado making it 14-10 Devils with 11:51 to play. The Bears had the next six shots causing three saves out of VanDorpe, while McCann stuck one in the net to cut the margin to 14-11. A save of a Barroll shot, led to the home side tallying two times in the span of 34-seconds. Pirone collected the ensuing draw and watched the duo of Parker and Wynne (2) all be denied by the goalie. That set the stage for Michaud to beat the buzzer and send things to the fourth in a 14-14 deadlock.
The Bears took control of the game early in the fourth as Noto, Lynch and Michaud each tickled the twine within the first three minutes to grab a 17-14 advantage. Two minutes later the Red and White turned a giveaway by Lynch into a marker from Yeagle as Kuehn found her for the finish. Despite recording five of the final eight shots of the game the visitors were unable to get any closer as Machado notched three more saves in the process to close out the 17-15 win.
Red Devil Leaders
Goals - Herbert and Yeagle (4)
Assists - Wynne (3), Barroll and Kuehn (2)
Groundballs - Hall, Pirone and VanDorpe (3)
Saves - VanDorpe (8)
Bear Leaders
Goals - McCann and Noto (4)
Assists - McCann (2)
Groundballs - Burkholder (4), McCann (3)
Saves - Machado (15)
