WILLIAMSBURG, VA – The Winthrop lacrosse team came away with a thrilling 10-9 come-from-behind victory Sunday afternoon over the William & Mary Tribe to remain undefeated on the season.
In a game of runs, it was the Eagles who came away with the last and most important. Winthrop (7-0) trailed 8-6 after William & Mary (2-3) went on a 6-0 run which included three goals to end the first half and three goals to start the second half. Through the first 14 minutes of the second half, the Tribe possession game kept Winthrop from getting many quality scoring chances.
Freshman Alexis Linhardt put an end to the William & Mary run with a free-position goal with 15:28 on the clock. Only 24 seconds later, senior Hayley Krause was set up on a free-position attempt and she dished the ball off to fellow senior Danielle Ellis who rolled around the cage and put the ball in the back of the net to tie the contest at 8-8 with 15:04 remaining.
As the momentum started to swing the Winthrop way, the Eagles were able to control the tempo of the contest. Sophomore Katie Clark gave Winthrop the lead back with 13:22 remaining on a free-position goal. With Winthrop taking the one-goal lead, sophomore goalie Alaina Girani stepped up her game. Girani recorded seven of her nine saves in the second half with four of them coming after the Eagles took the lead.
With 7:25 remaining in the contest, Kristen Shriver found a cutting Logan McCarthy in front of the Tribe cage and McCarthy buried what would become the game-winning goal.
The Tribe were able to get back within one with 2:54 remaining and put the pressure on the Winthrop defense over the final 120 seconds. With less than a minute to go, William & Mary was set up with a free-position attempt, but the shot was smothered by Girani and only a few seconds later she picked up a ground ball off a Tribe turnover that solidified the victory.
After going down 1-0 less than a minute into the game, Winthrop went on the first big run of the game, a 6-1 run, taking a 6-2 lead with 5:58 remaining in the first half. As has become typical for the Eagles, five different players contributed to the six tallies. William & Mary closed the opening half with three unanswered goals and started the second half the same way, with three straight tallies before Winthrop started its comeback bid.
Katie Clark, Kristen Shriver, Danielle Ellis and Alexis Linhardt each tallied two goals while Abigail Blevins and Logan McCarthy each netted one. Shannon Gallagher, who was held scoreless for the first time this season and for only the third time in the last two years, led the Eagles with six ground balls and five forced turnovers.
Hayley Krause corralled five of the Eagles' six draw controls, picked up four ground balls and recorded one assist. Girani finished with nine saves, five ground balls and one caused turnover.
The Eagles will now prepare for its second doubleheader of the season Saturday, March 12. Winthrop will host Army at 12 p.m. followed by Bryant at 6 p.m., both at Eagle Field.
