The No. 2 Lindenwood women's lacrosse team secured its 13th victory of the season on Thursday afternoon at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Md. over the No. 16 Lock Haven Bald Eagles. The Lady Lions won the neutral site battle by a final score of 13-10, helping the team achieve its best record to begin a season in program history.
Lock Haven scored the first three goals of the game, building itself a 3-0 lead just 4:32 into play.
Lindenwood responded quickly, tallying its first score of the afternoon just seven seconds after Lock Haven's third goal.
Allison Hurley was credited with the Lady Lion goal, making the score 3-1 in favor of the Bald Eagles.
Just over seven minutes later, with Lock Haven still holding its two-goal lead, Hurley again found the back of the cage for Lindenwood, bringing the Lady Lions within one goal of the Bald Eagles.
Lock Haven and Lindenwood would alternate the next four goals, with each team adding two scores to its total.
Carly Fedorowski and
Morgan Judd notched the scores for the Lady Lions, but the team continued to trail by a score of 5-4 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half.
As the first half moved toward its conclusion, Lock Haven extended its lead to a three-goal margin after it collected the next two scores. The Bald Eagles held a 7-4 lead with 2:40 remaining in the opening frame. However, Lindenwood outscored Lock Haven by a count of 3-1 to close out the first half, and headed into halftime trailing by a score of 8-7.
Sophie Buelow sparked the scoring stretch for the Lady Lions, which also saw goals from
Jenna Battaglini and
Maria Johnson.
Lindenwood drew itself even with Lock Haven after 62 seconds of play to begin the second half. Judd picked up her second unassisted goal of the afternoon, bringing the Lady Lions even with the Bald Eagles for the first time in the game.
The game remained tied for just 1:48 as Lock Haven reestablished its one-goal lead, pulling ahead by a score of 9-8 at the 27:10 mark of the second half.
Nearly four minutes later,
Sarah Goetz scored for Lindenwood, bringing the team back even with Lock Haven.
Following a Lock Haven yellow card with the teams tied and 15:04 remaining in the contest, Buelow scored her second goal of the game. Buelow's score came 58 seconds into the advantage, giving Lindenwood its first lead of the afternoon.
Maria Johnson followed with an unassisted score 43 seconds later to help the Lady Lions take an 11-9 lead.
Lock Haven would score its final goal of the afternoon with exactly 12 minutes remaining in the game, cutting the Lindenwood lead to 11-10.
Johnson and Battaglini would tack on two insurance goals during the remaining minutes of the game, as Lindenwood prevailed by the final score of 13-10.
Rachel Ortell captured her eighth victory of the season in goal for the Lady Lions, making five saves in the non-conference win.
Johnson finished with a game-high four-point performance, scoring three goals and dishing out one assist. Lindenwood also received multi-goal efforts from Buelow, Battaglini, Hurley, and Judd.
Johnson paced Lindenwood with a team-leading six draw controls, while Fedorowski caused a team-high three turnovers.
Following the victory, Lindenwood improves its record to 13-0. The Lady Lions will return to action on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. ET/12:00 p.m. CT in West Chester, Pa. for a non-conference showdown with the No. 9 West Chester Golden Rams.
