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NEWARK, Del. - - The Wilmington University women's lacrosse team jumped to a large lead against Frostburg State in the 2022 season opener but needed a fourth quarter comeback to stave off the Bobcats to win 18-15 on Saturday afternoon at the WU Athletics Complex.
The Wildcats (1-0) raced out to a 7-2 lead after the first quarter, but Frostburg State (0-3) closed the game to 10-7 at the halftime break. The Bobcats came out and won the third quarter, 4-1, to tie the game 11-11 after three quarters, and then scored three of the first four goals in the fourth quarter to take a 14-12 lead. But the Wildcats answered with the next five goals to regain momentum and earn the win.
Wilmington was firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, racing out to a 5-0 lead with goals from four different players. Makenzie Stritzinger and Riley McQuaide scored to make it 7-1 before the Wildcats went into the second quarter with a 7-2 lead.
Amelie Gamache and Ella Baynes scored the first two goals of the second quarter to lead 9-2 with 12:06 to play, but then the Bobcats made a push. They scored five straight to claw to within 9-7 before Stritzinger scored with 6 seconds left to give the Wildcats a 10-7 lead at the break.
Frostburg tied the game 10-10 by scoring the first three goals of the third before Campbell Heller scored to give the Wildcats lead back. But the Bobcats had the final say in the quarter, tying the game 11-11.
The Bobcats then scored the first two goals and three of the first four of the fourth quarter to take a 14-12 lead with 7:56 to play. Campbell Heller gave the Wildcats a fresh breath of air with a goal and then Lauren Gresham forced a turnover on a clear attempt and scored on her own to tie the game, 14-14. Taylor Lambeth gave the Wildcats the lead, 15-14, on a free position goal with 4:57 to play, and the Wildcats never looked back.
Makenzie Stritzinger won the ensuing draw and scored 50 seconds later on another free-position attempt. A rebound opportunity found the stick of Tristan Holdsworth who scored her first collegiate goal with 2:03 to play and the Wildcats were safely leading 17-14.
Campbell Heller scored five goals to go with two assists while Makenzie Stritzinger scored four goals, had one assist, and collected a program second-best 14 draws on the afternoon. Taylor Lambeth had two goals and two assists while Maddie Day added two goals and an assist.
The Wildcats travel to the Carolinas for their next two games, starting with Southern Wesleyan on Monday night. The opening draw is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. in Central, South Carolina.
