Overtime goal lifts lacrosse to first conference win


Freshman midfielder Jocelyn Lemay scored the game-winning goal in overtime, giving the Central Michigan lacrosse team (5-7, 1-3 Atlantic Sun) its first conference win in program history against Stetson on Sunday.

With two minutes to play, the Hatters scored four goals to tie the game 10-10. Lemay scored less than a minute into the sudden-death overtime, leaving Stetson players to walk off the field in tears as the Chippewas celebrated. 

It was Lemay's 28th goal in the 2016 season.

Head Coach Sara Tisdale said her team was “gun-shy” in the final two minutes, which allowed SU to even the score at the end of the game.

“We were afraid to make a mistake and we weren’t playing at the level we needed to play at,” she said. “Overall, we saw some really great people step it up even though we started off slow and slipped up at the end.”

The Hatters scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game, holding CMU to zero. Anna Schoonover scored first for the Chippewas with 13 minutes left in the half, followed by a goal each from Summer Abdalla and Natalie Bloniarz to tie the score.

SU broke the tie with three minutes remaining, making the score 4-3 at halftime.

CMU took the lead in the second half. August Jepsen tied the score 4-4 with 27 minutes left to play. Two minutes later, Logan Halvorson gave the Chippewas their first lead.

Schoonover, Lemay and Bloniarz each added goals. Bloniarz and Lemay each scored again, making the score 10-6 with 2:48 to play.

Schoonover and defender Kelly Spehar led the team defensively, picking up four ground balls each. Schoonover controlled eight draws for the Chippewas.

Tisdale said the path to the conference tournament in May is clearer now after collecting her first A-Sun victory.

“Our goal is to play in the Atlantic Sun tournament,” she said. “We knew we had to get past Stetson today, and now we have to pick up two great wins next weekend.”

The Chippewas will travel to Georgia to play Kennesaw State (4-9, 2-2 A-Sun) Friday and Mercer (6-8, 3-2 A-Sun) Sunday.

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About McKenzie Sanderson

McKenzie Sanderson is the Sports Editor at Central Michigan Life. She is a senior at Central ...

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