Closing out their non-conference schedule on a positive note, the AU women’s lacrosse (8-8, 5-0 PL) narrowly defeated the Longwood Lancers (9-7, 4-2 Big South) 7-6 at Jacobs Field on Apr. 17.
Kimberly Collins, who has been on a scoring streak as of late, led the way for the Eagles with four goals. Collins, who has tallied 16 goals in the past six games, brought her season total to 41 on Wednesday, which is sixth in the Patriot League.
“She [Collins] has been tremendous for us,” Head Coach Emma Wallace said. “And it’s not only the goal scoring, but also the little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. She’s had a fabulous career here and we’re all proud of her.”
AU shot out of the gate to start the game. Behind goals from Emily Maher and then Collins, the Eagles took an early 2-0 lead. However, later in the half, Longwood’s Katie McHugh and Sarah Arndt each scored, notching the game at 2-2. Collins scored again with 15 seconds left in the first half, and AU went into halftime with a 3-2 lead.
Jamie Brentlinger sparked a small run for Longwood at the start of the second half, scoring twice and putting the Lancers ahead 4-3. Collins and Maher soon answered back and put AU back up by one. AU and Longwood traded goals for the remainder of the half, with McHugh’s goal at 3:45 pulling the Lancers within one of the Eagles. However, Goalie Teal Harrison made a key save in the final two minutes, and the Lancers were unable to tie the game.
Maher also had a solid performance, putting together a hat trick as well as tallying two draw controls and collecting a game-high four ground balls. Harrison, coming off of her PL Rookie of the Week performance, had 11 saves, including a key save in the last two minutes of the game that sealed the victory for AU.
For Longwood, Brentlinger led the way with three goals and three ground balls collected. The Lancers outshot the Eagles 22-16 and held the advantage in turnovers, 11-13. However, AU held the advantage in ground balls collected, 16-9, and in saves, 11-4.
AU will close out its regular season on April 21 at noon at home against No. 14 Navy (14-1, 5-0 PL). Not only is Senior Day pride on the line for the Eagles, but a historical undefeated PL season and the No. 1 seed in the PL tournament are as well.
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