ELKINS, W.Va. (March 27) – A goal by senior Ally Coggins (Mt. Airy, Md./Liganore) in overtime lifted the Wheeling Jesuit University's women's lacrosse team past Davis & Elkins in a non-conference game on Wednesday afternoon.
The Cardinals improve their record to 6-3 overall with the win and have now won four games in a row. Meanwhile the Senators drop to 6-2 for the season.
Coggins scored the winning goal and led WJU with a career-high seven goals.
Davis & Elkins began the game on top, going up 1-0 in the first two minutes of play. Sophomore Megan Mangia (Gahanna, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) answered for the Cardinals within a few moments, but the Senators snuck another into the net to stay ahead.
WJU sophomore Paige Orbell (Severn, Md./Old Mill) won the next draw control and quickly found freshman Mackenzie Kaderabek (Annapolis, Md./St. Mary's). Kaderbeck connected a pass to senior Taylor Booth (Port Moody, British Columbia/Heritage Woods) who added another point to the scoreboard for the Cardinals, tying the game 2-2 five minutes into the contest.
Both teams took multiple shots in the following five minutes, but the Senators found an advantage and scored two-consecutive goals. Sophomore Bethany Wallingford (Chillicothe, Ohio/Chillicothe) and Coggins retaliated with goals of their own, keeping WJU neck and neck with Davis & Elkins.
The teams battled back and forth during the final 15 minutes of the first half with each team scoring goals. However, the Senators found a few more opportunities and went up 11-9 by halftime.
The Cardinals came out swinging in the second half, scoring two goals immediately. A third by Coggins with the clock at 17:30 to play in the game gave Wheeling Jesuit a 12-11 lead.
Davis & Elkins struck just a few seconds later, tying the game once again. The Senators used that momentum to fire another and they took the lead back. Each team struggled to get the ball by the other's goalkeeper until junior Hayley Holmquist (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) took advantage of a free position attempt and brought the Cardinals even at the six minute mark.
A goal by each team kept the game tied at 14-14 with less than four minutes left to play. The Senators took a last second shot on a free position attempt, but Wheeling Jesuit's goalkeeper sophomore Emma Stair (Westminster, Md./Mount De Sales Academy) kept the Cardinals alive and sent the game into overtime.
A draw control win by Kaderbek put the Cardinals on the offensive to begin overtime. The ball quickly found the net of Coggins who sailed it past the D&E goalie, ending the game in favor of Wheeling Jesuit 15-14.
Booth, Holmquist, and Mangia each added two goals for the Cardinals, while Wallingford and Orbell recorded one a piece. Kaderabek tallied two assists, six draw control wins and five ground balls. Stair racked up 11 saves against the Senators.
The Cardinals return home for their next game, taking on Notre Dame (Ohio) for a Mountain East Conference matchup on Sunday, March 31 at 1 p.m.
