NEW CASTLE, Del. - - Leading by six with just over 27 minutes to play in regulation, the Wilmington University women's lacrosse team lost a heartbreaker to Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference rival Philadelphia, 16-15, in overtime at the Kirkwood Soccer Complex on Thursday afternoon.
Wilmington (5-3, 2-2 CACC) came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, as the Wildcats turned a 3-2 deficit into an 8-3 advantage over a seven minute span in the first half. But Philadelphia (4-5, 3-2 CACC) retaliated by scoring five straight in the second half, and seven of eight goals in a 14 minute span to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:22 to play in regulation.
Ashley Kroll regained the lead for the Wildcats with her fourth goal of the afternoon on a great pass from Liz Case, making it 15-14 with 8:43 showing on the scoreboard. Philadelphia's Emily Ray took the game over from there, as she tallied the final four Rams' goals, including the tying goal in regulation with 6:14 to play, and the eventual game-winner in overtime with 31 seconds left in the first three minute segment.
The Wildcats had the first opportunity on goal in the overtime session, as a caused turnover by Brittany Rhodes gave the home team the ball with just over two minutes to play before the team's switched ends. Jessica Stratton dove to the front of the cage but her shot with 55 seconds left went high and out of bounds. It looked as though the Wildcats would regain position, but Stratton was whistled for a dangerous follow through and sent off the field for a two-minute penalty.
The Rams struck fast following the penalty, clearing the defensive zone in a hurry and getting in Wilmington's goalkeeper Kaitlyn Hall's face immediately. Hall stopped the initial shot by Kalin Hodel, but the rebound went right to the stick of Ray, who snuck it home off the left post with 31 seconds to play in the first half of overtime for the extra session's only goal.
Wilmington had another opportunity in the second three-minute half of the overtime period, as Meggan Apgar caused a turnover in the midfield with 1:53 remaining. But the Philadelphia defense stiffened up as Apgar gave it right back as her pass was deflected and scooped up by Rebecca Cox with 1:09 to play in overtime. Kaitlyn Hall made one last stop in goal for the Wildcats, but Wilmington was unable to corral the rebound and Philadelphia was able to out the clock from there.
Case had a monstrous day in the offensive zone for the Wildcats, as help spring the six-goal run in the first half by scoring or assisting on the first five goals. She fed Kroll to tie the game at 3-3 to start the run with 18:05 remaining in the first half, and then added another assist on a pass to Molly Taylor less than a minute later. She tallied an unassisted goal at the 16:22 mark and dished out another assist to Taylor with 15:20 to showing on the scoreboard. She capped her five consecutive point streak by receiving a pass from Apgar, scoring her third goal of the game and 19th of the season. Kroll finished off the run with a goal assisted by Jaclyn Hall.
Wilmington stretched the lead to as many as six early in the second half, as the Wildcats opened the second stanza by scoring the first three goals, all within the first three minutes. Kory Webster redirected a pass from Case, as she was triple-teamed off to the right of the goal, leaving Webster wide open in front of the cage for the easy goal and assist.
But from that Webster goal with 27:11 to play in regulation, it was all Philadelphia after that.
Case finished with four goals and five assists, tallying nine points to lead either team. Kroll also scored four goals on the afternoon, also added one assist for five points. Jaclyn Hall, Taylor and Webster all collected two goals apiece for the Wildcats while Rebecca Guethler tallied one goal.
Ray led the Rams with six goals and two assists, while Taylor Peltzer tacked on four goals and two assists. Peltzer's first assist of the game was her third point of the afternoon, also marking her 200th point of her career. Kalin Hodel and Andrea Saracco each scored two goals for the Rams.
Each net-minder recorded 15 saves in 66 minutes of action. Kaitlyn Hall fell to 4-3 on the year while the Ram's Kristen Moran won her first game of her collegiate career.
The Wildcats have a chance to get back into the win column this Saturday, as they return to CACC action with a game at Dominican. The game is slated for an 11:30 a.m. start at the Thorne Valley Sports Complex in Hillburn, N.Y.