‘Cats Storm Back With 2nd Half Surge, Fall in OT to La Salle, 14-12

Friday, March 11

Davidson, N.C.

6:30 p.m.

Davidson College

14 (OT)

La Salle

Senior Lily Graham hauled in three groundballs and forced three turnovers.

Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com

‘Cats Storm Back With 2nd Half Surge, Fall in OT to La Salle, 14-12

3/11/2011 9:48:26 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID

DAVIDSON, N.C. — Davidson erased a five-goal second-half deficit with eight goals in the last 20 minutes of regulation, but La Salle's Melanie Sarcinello forced overtime with a last-second goal and then netted the game-winner in the extra period as the Wildcats dropped a tough 14-12 decision on Friday night in women's lacrosse action at Richardson Stadium.

The Explorers' (4-2) Sarcinello scored a game-high eight goals on the night, but her last two proved to be the difference-makers for the Explorers. Her seventh goal, a free-position shot, forced overtime with just 57 ticks left, and then in the first three minutes of the extra period, her last goal, and the eighth score of the night for the midfielder, eventually would be the game-winning goal for La Salle.

Davidson (1-6), which trailed 8-4 after the first half and 9-4 eight minutes into the start of the second half, charged back and went on a five-goal run over a 10-minute span to tie things up at 9-all. Erin Doherty (Cincinnati, Ohio), Ann Fucigna (Darien, Conn.), Jessica Palfrey (Bronxville, N.Y.) and Erin Keitel (Carlsbad, Calif.) scored during the surge, with four of the goals coming on free-position shots as the Wildcats did a solid job of forcing La Salle to foul in the circle.

Davidson as a team was a season-best 7-of-13 on free-position shots as Fucigna hit 3-of-4 and Palfrey was 2-of-3 to lead the way.

Fucigna, who scored two of the five goals in the run, had given the 'Cats a 12-11 lead with 1:49 left in regulation when she connected on a free-position shot for her fourth goal of the game.

The freshman pushed her season goal total to a team-high 16, with 14 of them coming in the last four games.

Keitel and Palfrey each had two goals apiece to follow Fucigna in the scoring column. Palfrey's two scores were her first two of the season.

Alanna Parker (Spring Valley, Calif.) kept her consecutive goal streak alive at 15 games with a goal off a nice pass from Lindsay Cooper (Baltimore, Md.) at the 2:28 mark to tie things up at 11-apiece. She also added an assist on Jenna Mugele's (Baltimore, Md.) goal two-minutes prior to hers for two points on the evening.

The sophomore also hauled in a game-best eight draw controls to give her 24 on the season. Davidson had 18 as a team compared to La Salle's 12.

Joining Sarcinello with multiple goals was Taylor Ruland and Samantha Tulskie with three and two goals, respectively, for La Salle. Ruland picked up two assists for five points, while Lauren McDermott and Nora McGurkin also earned an assist.

Erin McGuire (Bishopville, Md.) and Lily Graham (Washington, D.C.) led the defense with seven combined groundballs, while Graham tallied three caused turnovers.

The first half saw Davidson fall behind 4-0 eight minutes into the half as Sarcinello went off for three of the goals.

Keitel put the Wildcats on the board with a free-position goal at the 21:02 mark, but they got only two more goals over the next 11 minutes, one each from Paige Logan (Garden City, N.Y.) and Fucigna.

Both teams were firing away on offense most of the night, combining for 61 shots. Davidson had 29 of those, putting 20 on goal and at least six of those hit the post.

Jessica Melby (Pittsburgh, Pa.) was busy between the pipes, earning nine saves on 32 of La Salle's shots. Megan Corliss was credited with eight saves for the Explorers.

The Wildcats hit the road and open up National Lacrosse Conference play with a 1 p.m. contest at Longwood on Saturday, Mar. 19.