PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - - A second half comeback forces overtime but the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team fell at Holy Family, 12-11, in the extra period in a critical Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference South Division matchup on Thursday afternoon.
The Wildcats (6-7, 5-4 CACC) scored twice in the final three minutes to tie the game and force the game to overtime, but the Tigers (4-7, 4-3 CACC) tallied the first two goals of the extra period and held on down the stretch to take the one-goal victory.
Wilmington jumped out to a fast start, scoring the first three goals of the contest and took a 4-1 lead as Rebekah McCurry tallied her second goal of the game with 16:05 left in the first half.
But back came the Tigers as they outscored the Wildcats, 6-1, for the rest of the first half, taking a 7-5 lead into the break.
McCurry got the Wildcats on the board first in the second half before back-to-back goals from Katie Spence and McCurry tied the game at 8-8 with 11:37 showing on the board.
Holy Family answered back with two consecutive goals of their own to take a 10-8 lead with only 3:57 to play, forcing the Wildcats into an aggressive offensive state.
Megan Keffer recorded her first goal of the game with 2:46 to play before Brittany Rhodes took a feed from Ashley Kroll to tie the game with 1:40 left in regulation.
The Tigers had an opportunity to win the game in the final seconds of play, as Paige Settar was awarded a free position shot with only seven seconds left.
Wilmington's senior goalkeeper Corinne Dries came up with the game saving save, however, and Ali Kern secured the ground ball to send the game into the extra time.
Holy Family struck quickly with a goal in the first 14 seconds of the overtime period before another mark with 2:01 remaining gave the Tigers a 12-10 lead.
Keffer closed the deficit to a single goal with her second of the game with 1:25 to play, but the Tigers were able to secure the ensuing draw control and hold onto possession until the final few seconds as they came away with the victory.
The Tigers held the advantage in draws, 19-8, which allowed them to also hold the advantage in shots, 35-22.
McCurry finished with a game high five goals and added an assist for six points. She also picked up five ground balls and caused three turnovers. Spence added a hat trick for the Wildcats, scoring three goals on four shots. Keffer added two goals while also picking up five ground balls, three draws, and a team high four caused turnovers.
Dries recorded 13 saves for the Wildcats while Tigers' net minder Grace Deckert made six stops in the victory.
The win slides the Tigers in front of the Wildcats in the CACC South Division standings by a game in the loss column. Only the top two teams of each division advance to the CACC Tournament.
The Wildcats have the weekend off and return to action next Tuesday, April 15. The team also returns home to the WU Athletics Complex as they square off against the University of the District of Columbia in a nonconference game. The opening draw is slated for 4 p.m.