A stretch of seven consecutive goals spanning both halves turned the game around for the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team as they captured the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference contest over Dominican, 15-12, on Thursday afternoon at the Torne Valley Sports Complex.
The Wildcats (4-9, 3-2 CACC) trailed 5-2 halfway through the first half on Thursday, but a Sara LeBrun goal with 11:51 left in the half sparked a 5-0 run to end the half, giving the visitors a 7-5 lead at the break. Wilmington scored the first two goals of the second half as well, opening its largest lead of the game at 9-5.
Dominican (3-8, 3-2 CACC) scored three of the next four goals in the game to close to within 10-8, but the Chargers couldn't get any closer than two goals for the rest of the game.
The Chargers took their largest lead of the game with three consecutive goals and five-of-six with 14:40 left in the first half, getting back-to-back unassisted goals from Allison Smithwick.
But the Wildcats retaliated with the final five goals of the first half, three of which came off the stick of Rebekah McCurry to go into the half leading 7-5. Maddie Hewitt gave the Wildcats the lead for good with a free position shot with 2:04 left in the first half.
LeBrun tallied her third goal of the game to start the second half while Ashley Kroll made it seven straight goals for the Wildcats with a free position goal just 30 seconds later.
La'Dae Boykin and LeBrun scored back-to-back goals to extend the Wildcats' lead out to 13-9 with 14:43 left in regulation and the teams traded goals over the final eight minutes of play to close out the 15-12 contest.
The Wildcats controlled the start of each possession throughout the game, out-gaining the Chargers, 17-10, in draw controls. McCurry broke a single game record by scooping up nine ground balls and also collected seven caused turnovers, again tying the single game mark in program history.
LeBrun led the offense with six goals, adding an assist for seven points. McCurry also collected seven points against the Chargers, scoring three goals while adding four assists. Hewitt added two goals on the afternoon while Kroll, Megan Keffer, Boykin, and Katie Spence rounded out the scoring with one goal each. Boykin also chipped in with four assists.
Goalkeeper Corinne Dries made seven saves on Thursday, four of which came in the first half and two during the Wildcats 5-0 run to keep the Chargers off the board. The Chargers' Brittany Kiernan made nine saves in goal.
The Wildcats return home for their next game as the rest of the season consists of CACC contests. The Wildcats welcome Nyack to the WU Athletics Complex on Saturday with the first draw taking place at 1 p.m.