BRIDGEWATER, Va.— Averett University women's lacrosse lost a heartbreaker 14-12 at Bridgewater College in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament First Round on Saturday, ending the Cougars' season.

Averett (9-5), the No. 7 seed in the tournament, looked poised to pull the upset over No. 6 seed Bridgewater (10-8). The Cougars led for most of the game until the Eagles rallied in the fourth quarter. With Averett up 11-9 after three quarters, Bridgewater opened the fourth quarter with four consecutive goals. The Eagles tied it, 11-11, with 9:14 left before going in front 12-11 with 7:22 to play.

Trailing 13-11, Averett got back within one when sophomore Faith Bowlin scored on a free position attempt with 4:24 remaining in the game. Bridgewater, however, inched back ahead by two goals with another score two minutes later. The Eagles held on for the final two minutes to advance to the ODAC quarterfinals on Tuesday.
 
Averett set the tone early, getting off to a strong start that saw the Cougars go up 4-3 after the first 15 minutes of play. Averett scored three of the first four goals of the second period to help the Cougars go into halftime up 7-6.

Bridgewater put together a run in the third to tie the game at 8-8 and again at 9-9. Averett, however, got back-to-back goals from Bowlin in the final minute to take a two-goal lead into the fourth.
 
Bowlin scored a team-high five goals and four ground balls to lead the Cougars, who also got a hat trick from senior Kelsey Steckroth. Seniors Raven Felder and Elizabeth Peasley finished their final collegiate game with two goals apiece, with Felder totaling two assists. Bowlin and Steckroth also had one assist.

Peasley, who became NCAA women's lacrosse's all-time leader in career goals scored, finished her career with 389 goals in 85 games along with 448 career points, which unofficially ranks sixth all-time in NCAA Division III history.


 
 
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