Big 2nd Half Leads to Comeback Win for 'Cats, 12-11

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DAVIDSON, N.C. — Down by six goals after one half, Davidson turned the tables and outscored Bucknell 9-2 in the second half to earn a come-from-behind 12-11 victory Wednesday night under the lights in Richardson Stadium in women's lacrosse action.

The 'Cats netted their first win in the series vs. the Bison by using a 7-0 run in the second half to erase a 9-3 halftime deficit and then got the game-winning goal off the stick of Lucy Sexton with 2:56 left to complete the win.

"I'm so proud of the way the team came out of halftime," said head coach Kim Wayne. "We were determined to chip away at the lead one goal at a time and to never give up, and that's exactly what we did. Overall it was the best 30 minutes I have seen us play since the first 30 minutes of the Navy game. We played as a team and we never gave up!"

Emily Cooke and Emma Sissman helped Davidson (3-2) take leads of 10-9 and 11-10 with scores at the 9:35 and 5:15 marks, with Cooke assisting on Sissman's score. Then Sexton capped off the big comeback victory with her fourth goal of the game for a 12-10 lead.

Bucknell (2-5) scored a goal with 13 ticks remaining, but Davidson won the ensuing draw control to seal up the win.

Sexton paced the Wildcats with four goals, giving her a team-best 16 on the season. Nicole Pettiglio netted a career-high three goals, getting all three in the big second-half run, while Cooke finished with a goal and three assists.

Emma Sissman recorded three goals and Emily Rademacher rounded out the scoring with a goal.

The Bison put four players in the books with multiple goals, led by Emily Kookogey's four, which all came in the first half. Gretchen Richter had three goals, while Maddy Molinari and Christina Manis added two each.

In a tale of two halves, Bucknell controlled the first half by opening the game with five unanswered goals before Sexton put Davidson on the board 13 minutes in. A pair of Sissman scores later cut the Bison lead to three at 6-3, but they closed the half on a 3-0 run, getting two of those goals from Kookogey, for the six-goal lead.

"This is the first time all year that we faced a zone defense, so we knew going into the game that we were going to make mistakes," said Wayne. "We talked about where the gaps would be and how to attack the open space, but until you are put in the situation its always easier said than done. Unfortunately, it took our attack a little longer than expected to find the gaps, but once they did things started clicking for us."

Davidson turned things around in the second half, playing shutdown defense and converting on 5-of-9 free-position shots in the first 14 minutes to make it 9-8. Sexton and Pettiglio had two free-position goals each.

Pettiglio and Cooke then gave the 'Cats a 10-9 lead with back-to-back goals to cap off the 7-0 run. The Bison answered by tying it up three minutes later before Davidson answered right back with two goals in a three-minute span for the win.

Davidson took 20 of its game-high 29 shots in the second half to finish with a 29-25 advantage. Bucknell got off just six second-half shots. Both teams pulled in 20 groundballs each, while the Wildcats finished with a 14-11 edge on draw controls.

Katy Boyle stopped nine shots in the goal and Bucknell's Elizabeth Duswalt was credited with eight saves.

Eight different players picked up two or more groundballs to help the Wildcats reach the 20-groundball mark for the fourth time this year. Sexton, Annie Brockett and Veronica Fiorino recorded three apiece.

Davidson hits the road for the a pair of contests, starting this weekend when it goes to High Point on Sunday, March 15, for a 2 p.m. game.

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