BEAR, Del. - - A slow start loomed large for the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team, as Dominican jumped out early before taking a 14-11 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference decision on Wednesday night under the lights at Red Lion Christian Academy.
After losing their first four games to start the season, the Chargers (2-4, 2-2 CACC) have bounced back with back-to-back CACC victories, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before the Wildcats (5-5, 4-2 CACC) were able to get on the board.
The Chargers went on another three-goal streak towards the end of the first half, giving the visitors a 7-2 lead with 4:49 left before the break.
The Wildcats battled back as the half closed, as Gabby Spalt started a string of three straight tallies for the home team. Megan Keffer finished the half with a hat trick, bringing Wilmington to within a pair at the break.
Dominican started the half with consecutive goals, easing the pressure and putting the Chargers back in front 9-5 with 24:20 left in regulation.
Shawna Chopko slammed a high pass from Rebekah McCurry home for the Wildcats' first goal of the second half before Maddie Hewitt converted a pass from Katie Spence to bring the Wildcats back to within two with 19:25 to play.
But the Chargers didn't back down, as they responded with two goals of their own once again. The Wildcats made the best of a pair of man-advantages with 13 minutes to play, as Hewitt and Keffer brought the Wildcats to within two once more with 11:53 showing on the scoreboard.
Keffer's fifth goal with 10:49 closed the gap to within 12-10 with 10:49 to play, but the Chargers wouldn't allow the Wildcats to get any closer, as Dominican slammed the door with back-to-back goals, making it 14-10 with 4:05 left in regulation.
Keffer scored her game high sixth goal with 45 seconds remaining in the contest, but was too little too late for the Wildcats, as they dropped the CACC contest.
In addition to Keffer's six goals, Hewitt added two while Spence and Spalt each scored once. McCurry and Penelope Fantis tacked on two assists each while Spence added one for two points in the game.
Senior goalkeeper Corinne Dries make 10 stops in the loss while Dominican's net minder tallied four saves for the victory.
The Wildcats return to action on Saturday, as they stay inside the CACC for another match. The team returns to action at the WU Athletics Complex for this weekend's game against Post, starting at 1 p.m.
