It took all of regulation and two overtimes, but the women's lacrosse team secured its first victory of the 2008 season, defeating the Davidson Wildcats on the road Saturday 11-10.
The Eagles jumped out to an early 3-1 lead on goals by junior Kira Sonberg and seniors Brittany Finnegan and Lauren Askionoff. However, Davidson quickly recovered to even up the game, which remained close almost the entire way.
The Eagles and Wildcats traded small leads for much of the game, as AU senior Jackie Lane scored three goals to help the Eagles keep pace. But the Wildcats finally broke through with just under 11 minutes remaining and extended its lead to 10-8.
Davidson midfielder Jen Crawford connected for one of her game-high four goals, while Emily Palmer netted one of her two goals for Davidson to gain the advantage. However, it would be the last points for the Wildcats as AU shut down its defense the rest of the way.
Meanwhile, the Eagles mounted a comeback effort. Senior Caitlin Bell netted one of her two goals for the Eagles from the free position shot with five minutes to go, and freshman Allegra Formento tied the game less than a minute later, scoring an unassisted goal to force overtime.
After a scoreless first overtime period, the Eagles finally took control in the second extra frame. The Eagles outshot the Wildcats 3-1 in double overtime and secured the win. With just 54 seconds to go, junior Leslie Fischer netted the unassisted game-winning goal to provide AU with the winning margin. The goal was Fischer's only point of the game.
In addition to the close score, the teams were almost statistically identical. Each had 26 shots on goal each. The Eagles won the turnover battle, committing just 20 to Davidson's 26, but had only 11 draw wins to the Wildcats' 14. Davidson also had a slight edge in ground balls, taking 19 compared to 15 for AU. The Wildcats had the edge at free position shots, making five of nine while the Eagles only converted two of six free position shots.
The win improves the Eagles' record to 1-2 on the year. Their next game is at home against Old Dominion on Saturday at 1 p.m.
