WINTER PARK, Fla. (February 24, 2008) ' Four
Tars would score en route to an 11-10 victory over NAIA institution
Notre Dame College in a down to the wire contest that would make
history for the Rollins College Community. With their first ever
win for the program, the Rollins women's lacrosse team advances to
1-2, while the Notre Dame College Falcons of South Euclid, Ohio
begin their season at 0-1.
Attackers Liz Connelly and Annie Harris would each place four
balls into the cage for the Tars, with two goals coming from
freshman midfielder Courtney Bianculli, and one goal being posted
by freshman midfielder Katie Hubbell. It was a momentous day for
both Harris and Hubbell as they scored their first goals of the
season.
Freshman Lacy Goodwyn and Connelly helped keep the Tars'
momentum going with one assist each, and freshman midfielder Katy
Tyszko added two more for a total of four assists for the team.
Junior goaltender Lisa Weber had a solid game in the cage, making
four saves at key moments in the game, and coming out of the net to
grab two ground balls.
It was anyone's game as the score was tied seven times and the
lead changed five times throughout the contest. The Tars made the
first move with a goal just seconds into the game from Connelly
with an assist by Tyszko. The Falcons would quickly answer back to
even up the goal count at 1-1, and would pull ahead with a goal
from Gena McPherson.
Rollins made it very clear that they were not going to be
overlooked, and quickly answered back with Harris scoring her first
goal of her career a minute later to even up the count once more,
making it a 2-2 game with 24:09 left in the first half.
The Falcons pulled ahead by two, but Rollins persisted, and with
8:27 left in the half the score was once again tied up with 5-5 on
the scoreboard. It was a quick battle for the lead with the score
evening out at 6-6, but after a flurry of action the Tars would
enter into the halftime break leading by one with a score of
8-7.
The second half was just as exciting as the first even though
both teams would only score three goals each. Rollins was the first
to strike as Connelly and Tyszko fired away to get the ball moving
for the second time. The Falcons fought back with two goals to even
up the score at 9-9, but with goals from Hubbell and Harris, the
Tars would be up 11-9 with just 2:23 left in the game.
The final two minutes proved to be tense as the Falcons came
back just seconds later with a McPherson goal, leaving the Tars up
by one with only 2:08 left in the game. Notre Dame held possession
as the clock ticked down, and would threaten the Rollins defense on
more than one occasion. The final Falcon push came from McPherson
who was poised to shoot just feet in front of the crease with just
39 seconds to go, but the Rollins defense would close in and cause
a turnover that would allow the Tars to keep possession of the ball
for the final thirty seconds.
The Tars will be back on the field this Friday, February 29 as
they travel to Laurinburg, N.C. to take on St. Andrew's
Presbyterian College. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
