Elon WLAX Phoenix Falls to William & Mary in Regular-Season Finale

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A ferocious comeback in the second half fell short for the Elon women’s lacrosse team today, April 30, as the Phoenix fell at William & Mary, 11-9, at Martin Family Stadium. The maroon and gold trailed by as much as five to start the second half and closed the gap to one before the Tribe held on for the win.

The Phoenix (10-6, 3-3 CAA) outshot the Tribe (7-9, 1-5 CAA), 23-16, claimed a 19-16 advantage in ground balls, won eight draws, had 15 caused turnovers and finished 12-of-16 in clear attempts. Maeve Cowley claimed a team-high three points on the day after two goals and one assist, while Shelby Scanlin and Abby Godfrey each netted two goals. Anna Vitton, Stephanie Asher and Kelli Stack each posted scores as well for the maroon and gold.

Asher, Godfrey and Melanie McHugh all picked up four ground balls, while Godfrey had a career-high four caused turnovers followed by three each from Asher and McHugh. Alexis Zadjura claimed a team-high four draws, while Scanlin finished with two draws, two ground balls and two draws. Rachel Ramirez took the loss in goal after five saves on the day.

The Tribe finished with 14 draw controls and went 11-of-18 in clear attempts. McKinley Wade had a game-high four goals followed by Zoe Boger and Maddie Torgerson each had a goal and an assist. Meredith Crizer claimed the win between the posts after nine saves in the game.

Highlights
After Vitton got the Phoenix on the board just over two minutes into the game, the Tribe answered with three straight goals to take a 3-1 lead by the 19:26 mark.

Cowley claimed the ensuing draw and quickly got the ball to Scanlin to bring the maroon and gold within one, 3-2, with 19:13 on the clock. Less than two minutes later, Asher evened the game at three-all for her 34th goal of the season with 17:43 to play. After strong defensive stands by both teams for over 10 minutes, W&M managed to net five goals in the final seven minutes of the half to claim an 8-3 advantage at the break.

With 17:28 on the clock, Scanlin broke the over 30-minute scoring drought for the Phoenix with her second goal of the day to start the comeback. Two scores by Godfrey and a free-position goal by Stack in less than three minutes cut the deficit to just one, 8-7, with 14:52 to play.

The Tribe netted two goals in just over a two-minute span to move back in front by three, 10-7, by the 9:18 mark. With W&M up by four 11-7, Cowley scored her first goal of the game with 4:22 on the clock followed by a free-position goal with 1:48 remaining to bring the Phoenix within two, 11-9. Elon was able to get three more shots off in the final two minutes but was not able to score and fully complete the comeback.

Next Up
The Phoenix has already clinched the No. 3 seed in the upcoming CAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. Elon faces No. 2 seed Towson in the semifinals on Friday, May 6, at 3:30 p.m. in Philadelphia at Drexel’s Vidas Field.