Copyright 2016; Wilmington University. All rights reserved.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - An early lead didn't hold for the Wilmington University women's lacrosse on Thursday afternoon, as Holy Family took a 24-8 victory in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference regular season finale at Tiger Field.
The Wildcats (4-11, 4-5 CACC) and Tigers (6-11, 6-3 CACC) already secured spots in the upcoming CACC Tournament, but Thursday's game decided seeding. With the loss, the Wildcats wrapped up the sixth and final spot while the Tigers secured the fourth playoff spot and a home game in the CACC First Round. The Wildcats will now play at third seeded Georgian Court in the First Round.
As for the game, the Wildcats started out hot, grabbing a 4-1 lead in the first nine minutes. The Tigers responded by going on a 7-0 run over the next seven minutes of game play to grab an 8-4 lead with 13:21 left in the first half. La'Dae Boykin and Sara LeBrun scored back-to-back goals on the man-advantage before LeBrun scored again to cut the deficit to 9-7 with 7:56 showing on the first half clock.
But the Tigers answered with the final three goals of the first half, the final coming with three seconds before the buzzer. Holy Family took a 12-7 advantage into the break.
The second half was all Holy Family, as they extended their three-goal streak at the end of the first half into 12 consecutive goals by scoring the first nine of the second half. The run allowed the Tigers to open a 21-7 lead.
Boykin took a feed from Gabby Spalt to break up the Tiger run, but it was too little too late as the Tigers took the game, 24-8.
LeBrun and Boykin led the Wildcats with three goals each while Boykin added an assist for four points. Spalt scored a goal and added two assists while Megan Card dished out two assists in the game. Sam Foster and Spalt rounded out the Wildcat scoring with one goal each.
Maddie Hurm made 10 stops in goal for the Wildcats, but Holy Family out shot the visitors, 43-20, in the game. The Tigers also held the advantage in draw controls, 21-13, and ground balls, 37-19.
The CACC Tournament First Round is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3. The Wildcats and Lions will play for a spot in the CACC Tournament Semifinals, also hosted by Georgian Court in the Lakewood, N.J.