DANVILLE, Va. — Averett University women's lacrosse rallied from six goals down in the final nine minutes to tie it up with 13 seconds left in regulation, then scored a golden goal in overtime as the Cougars shocked The College of Wooster 18-17 in a battle of unbeaten teams Tuesday night on Daly Field at Frank R. Campbell Stadium.
Averett (5-0) found itself trailing 17-11 with under nine minutes remaining before mounting an improbable comeback. The Cougars got two quick free position goals from sophomore
Faith Bowlin in a 12-second span to keep the door cracked, and graduate student
Elizabeth Peasley followed with her own free position goal moments later to trim Wooster's lead to 17-14 with 8:28 left in the fourth quarter.
That momentum was just what the Cougars needed after trailing by multiple goals throughout the game.
"I think I looked up and it was around eight minutes left and we were about three goals behind them," Peasley said. "I thought, 'Oh, they're not even touching the ball. We've got it at this point. We're going to win the game.'"
Less than a minute later, senior
Raven Felder scored her seventh goal of the evening and Peasley pulled Averett within 17-16 with her goal at the 6:24 mark.
Averett thought it had tied the game, 17-17, when Peasley scored with 5:34 to play. However the goal was waived off for a penalty, leaving the Cougars more work to do to try to complete the comeback.
While Averett's offense caught fire, its defense clamped down to cause several turnovers as junior
Kaylee Joblon shut down any shots on goal to help give the Cougars a chance during the final frame.
"The defense played phenomenally," Joblon said. "I'm really proud with what they did, and then with us making that transition up the field was pretty clean most of the time. When we had to do it, we did it and got it down to the offensive side, which was the key we needed."
Still, the Cougars needed to score the equalizing goal. Time was running out.
Felder had possession when she was fouled with 17 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, giving her a free position opportunity. From the left wing, Felder took two steps and fired a shot past the Wooster goalkeeper, tying the game with 13 seconds to play while sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
"It was very stressful but we had to stay humble and know that we could do this as a team," Felder said. "I kind of wanted to put the team on my back and just score."
To start overtime, Averett contolled the draw and never gave up possession. After a foul, the ball eventually made its way to Peasley, who made a move from up top, cut back between defenders and found an open lane to the goal where she fired it home for the game-winner less than 40 seconds into overtime.
Peasley was mauled by teammates as they ran to the corner to celebrate arguably the biggest regular season victory in program history — certainly one of the most memorable.
"We knew we had it in us," Averett head coach
Erin Murphy said. "We've really been challenging ourselves in practice to rise to the occasion and show what we're made of, and I think that was the biggest test we've had this season. I really put that on the girls and they really ran with it."
Although Peasley scored the game-winner, Felder's role may have been the most valuable on Tuesday. As Wooster (6-1) opened the game with a 6-1 lead, it was Felder who helped keep Averett afloat. She scored five of her team-high eight goals in the first half to keep the Cougars within 12-7 by halftime. And Felder, of course, then came up big with the tying goal in the final seconds of the fourth quarter to force overtime.
"Raven is a dominant player on offense for us and tonight she showed that," Murphy said. "She committed to her drives and placed her shots so well. Her awareness of the clock and the need for a shot at the end is what helped us push it to overtime, and we're so proud of her work ethic and performance."
After both team scored twice in the third period as play evened out, Averett felt it could make a final push to make things interesting.
"In the second half, it was going back and forth in the third quarter," Felder said. "I just felt like we were in the game and we wanted to win."
Murphy said mid-game adjustments really changed the outlook for the Cougars.
"We had to make some adjustments in transition," she said. "If we couldn't clear the ball, then we knew our opportunities were going to be limited. I'm really proud of their mid-game adjustment there."
Although Averett scored twice to start the fourth quarter, Wooster scored three consecutive goals to extend its lead back to six with 11:05 to play before the Cougars pulled a comeback for the ages.
"I was really proud of our team putting it away," Felder said. "We stuck together as a team, played team defense and team offense and put it away even when people doubted us."
Peasley finished with five goals, including the game-winner, to move into sole position of fourth all-time in NCAA Division III career goals scored. She now has 447, leaving her 15 goals shy of the third-place total and 27 goals shy of the all-time mark. Bowlin also added four goals and an assist, while senior
Kelsey Steckroth added a goal. Bowlin also led the team with 11 draw controls and was one of four Cougars with at least three ground balls, joining sophomore
Rachel Rios, junior
Porsha Davis and Joblon. Senior
Rylie Leadore had a team-best three caused turnovers. Joblon finished with 13 saves in goal.
The meeting was the first ever between Averett and Wooster in women's lacrosse. The Fighting Scots entered the week as one of only three schools left in Division III with both an unbeaten women's and men's lacrosse team. That notation ended Tuesday night.
The win gives Averett momentum heading into the weekend as the Cougars prepare for their first game in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Saturday against Virginia Wesleyan University, which Wooster just beat 14-7 last Saturday.
