ELON, N.C. – Elon University women’s lacrosse dropped a heartbreaking 14-13 overtime contest Thursday night, March 1, at Rhodes Stadium to Triad-rival High Point.
THE RUNDOWN
With 12 seconds to play in regulation, High Point (2-2) tallied the game-tying goal off the crosse of Abby Hormes. The goal was setup after a Phoenix turnover with 18 seconds left. After Samantha Herman won the overtime draw for the Panthers, Erica Perrotta netted the game-winner 56 seconds into the extra session to give High Point the win.
While High Point tallied the first goal of the night, Elon (0-4) answered nicely with a 3-0 run thanks to a goal from Melissa Birdsell and a pair by Stephanie Asher. Though High Point came back to tie it at 3-3 with 15:28 to go in the opening frame, Asher tallied twice in the final 1:07 of the half to give Elon a 7-5 lead after 30 minutes.
To open the second half, Birdsell gave Elon a three-goal cushion with a strike nearly 90 seconds into the half. But High Point started a 4-0 run less than 30 seconds later to take a 9-8 lead with 25:19 to go in regulation. Over the course of the next 10 minutes, both team went on 3-0 runs with Elon going up 10-8 behind a pair of goals from Nicole Sinacori and a strike by Summer Larese. High Point responded with a pair of Perrotta goals and a Darla Poulin tally to retake the lead at 11-10 with 9:06 to play.
With 7:30 to go, Sinacori scored her fourth of the night to knot the game at 11 before Larese netted her second of the evening with 5:26 to play to give the Phoenix a one-goal lead. But High Point’s heroics down the stretch allowed the Panthers to come away with the win.
HIGHLIGHTS
Asher scored a game-high five goals on nine shots while picking up two draw controls. She now leads the team in both categories with 11 goals and 12 draw controls this year. Sinacori’s four goals are a season-high as the senior scored on four of her five shots while also picking up a team-high four ground balls to go with two caused turnovers. Birdsell and Larese each tallied twice on the night to round out Elon’s offensive output. Shannon Horan finished with a team-best three draw controls.
Perrotta and Poulin paced High Point with four goals apiece. Perrotta also added three assists for seven points to go with two ground ball and two draw controls. Hormes added three tallies and three draw controls.
NOTES
-After scoring five goals in the first half on eight shots, the senior was held to one shot and didn’t score in the second half.
-Both Asher and Sinacori’s goal totals fell one short of matching their career highs. Thursday night did mark the first multi-goal game for Larese.
-Tori Cipollone made eight saves on the night to set a new career mark.
-Thursday’s game was moved from Rudd Field to Rhodes Stadium after rain doused the region all day and into the evening.
UP NEXT
Elon will continue a three-game homestand by welcoming Stanford to Rudd Field on Sunday, March 4. First draw is set for 12 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on Phoenix All-Access.