A 7-1 stretch in the final 18 minutes of the first half allowed the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team to take a big halftime lead on its way to a 15-9 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference victory at Post on LaMoy Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Wildcats (3-6, 2-1 CACC) did not let the fact that they were playing their second game in a matter of 24 hours faze them on Saturday, as they only trailed once and that was only after the first goal of the game. Post (0-7, 0-4 CACC) had the deficit to as few as four goals a couple of time in the second half, but the Wildcats held off the Eagles for the conference victory.
Post got on the board first in the game, scoring on a free position shot with 25:34 to play in the first stanza. But the Wildcats grabbed their first lead of the game with back-to-back goals by Sara LeBrun, taking a 2-1 lead on goals 20 seconds apart. After the Eagles tied the match at 2-2 with a goal with 20:19 to play in the first half, it was all Wildcats as they scoring seven of the final eight goals of the half.
Maddie Hewitt started the stretch with back-to-back goals before Katie Spence got on the board for the Wildcats' third consecutive goal with 15:01 left. La'Dae Boykin scored the first of her team high four goals with 13:32 to play in the half, giving he Wildcats a 6-2 lead.
Post added a mark with 9:49 to play but then the Wildcats closed out the half with the final three goals, as Spence and Boykin added goals before Gabby Spalt got on the board with her lone goal of the game with 3:26 left, making it 9-3 going into the break.
The Eagles started the second half by scored three of the first four goals to close the gap to 10-6, but Ashley Kroll scored her sixth goal of the year before Boykin added another for the Wildcats to keep the Eagles at arms' length. After the Eagles again closed the gap to 12-8, Alexa Cover scored her first goal of her career followed by Chelsie Maher's first goal of the season. Rebekah McCurry capped the Wilmington scoring with her 16th of the season with 35 seconds to play, giving the Wildcats a 15-8 lead.
Boykin's four goals were accompanied by two assists while LeBrun, Hewitt, and Spence chipped in with two goals each. McCurry dished out two assists to add to her one goal while Kroll added a goal and an assist as well.
Corinne Dries recorded nine saves on the afternoon, five of which came in the first half to allow the Wildcats to take a large halftime lead. Kathy Walker recorded 11 saves for the Eagles.
The Wildcats remain on the road for one more CACC game before returning home. They head to Philadelphia on Tuesday for a battle against the CACC Preseason favorites at 4 p.m.