Ohio Northern Edges Women’s Lacrosse Late, 9-8

GEORGETOWN, Texas – Suffolk women's lacrosse came up just short in a back-and-forth neutral-site contest Saturday afternoon, falling to Ohio Northern, 9-8, in a game that saw two ties and two lead changes in the final quarter. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 8 | Ohio Northern 9
RECORDS: Suffolk (2-3) |Ohio Northern (5-4) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Carley Ehwa got things started with a man-up strike from close range after receiving a feed from Bridget O'Leary to make it 1-0 Suffolk at the 12:37 mark of the opening frame. Moments later, Charlotte Guziejka made a save from in close on a free position shot, and on the ensuing possession Lauren Woods picked out Julia Dickinson, who slotted her shot home to double the Rams' advantage as Suffolk closed the period leading 2-0.
• After holding Ohio Northern scoreless for the first 22:12, the Polar Bears finally found the back of the net on a man-up opportunity to slice the deficit in half with 7:42 to play in the half. Suffolk responded on the break as Gracelyn Laperle led the charge following a successful clear and played a pass to Dickinson, who was waiting in front of the net for an easy finish. Jessie Le then netted a free-position goal with just 30 seconds remaining in the half to send the Rams into the halftime break with a 4-1 lead.
• The Polar Bears came out of the halftime break with three straight goals over a 9:27 stretch to draw the game level at 4-4. O'Leary halted the run with a goal from distance that snuck over the goal line to push Suffolk back in front, 5-4, at the 4:12 mark of the third. Ohio Northern tied the game briefly, but Dickinson netted her third of the day after weaving through the Polar Bear defense as the Rams took narrow 6-5 lead into the final frame.
• Ohio Northern claimed its first lead of the game after opening the fourth quarter with two goals to move ahead 7-6 with 9:54 remaining. Suffolk answered quickly as Zoe Peckham found a cutting Ehwa just 35 seconds later to even the score at 7-7. Moments later, Ehwa turned provider, setting up Woods to put the Rams back in front, 8-7, with just over seven minutes to play. The Polar Bears, however, closed the game with the final two goals, including a man-up free-position strike with 1:59 remaining, to secure the 9-8 decision.

GOALIE LOG

• Charlotte Guziejka made eleven saves in the contest and picked up six ground balls.
• Kara Fox stopped seven shots in net for the Polar Bears. 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Dickinson netted a hat trick and added one ground ball and one caused turnover.
• Ehwa finished with two goals and one assist.
• O'Leary stuffed the stat sheet with one goal, one assist, two ground balls, two draw controls, and two caused turnovers.
• Woods recorded one goal and one assist.
• Peckham and Laperle each dished out one helper, while Le added one goal.
• Taylor Joynt led the defensive charge with four caused turnovers and four ground balls.
• Penelope Lawlor paced the Rams at the draw with three draw controls.
• Suffolk held an advantage in both ground balls (21-14) and caused turnovers (11-8).

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk and Ohio Northern met for the first time.
• Dickinson recorded her fourth consecutive hat trick to raise her season total to 19 goals.
• Ehwa reached the 15-goal milestone with her two goals on the afternoon.
• Le notched her first goal of the season.
• Joynt picked up a career-best four ground balls.
• Stella MacLelland tied a career-high with ground balls. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk returns north to begin Conference of New England (CNE) play on the road at Curry Tuesday, March 18. Opening draw from Milton, Massachusetts is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.