Late goal helps lacrosse top Virginia Commonwealth
Central Michigan’s Lacrosse team earned its third victory of the season with a 6-5 win over Virginia Commonwealth Sunday.
With the game tied at 5-5 with 34 seconds to play, CMU freshman Jocelyne Lemay scored the final goal, improving CMU's record to 3-2 overall and 2-0 at home.
“I think they were a really good opponent,” Lemay said. “They had good offense and defense and a lot of fast players. It was challenging to stick with them and slow it down in game possession and just hold (the ball) and not go in for the goal every single time.”
Head Coach Sara Tisdale said the last few minutes of the game, when the score was tied, was nerve-racking.
“Longest three minutes I think ever,” Tisdale said. “But we showed that we could make very mature choices and really execute those end-of-the game plays.”
Similar to the Chippewas, VCU is also playing its first season in program history. The Rams fell to 2-4 on the year.
“We respect (VCU) a ton,” Tisdale said. “They had an advantage that we didn’t. They had an extra year to recruit, so they actually have two classes on (their) campus. So for us to test our skills and come away with a win in this game, that’s pretty awesome.”
Lemay scored five of the six goals for CMU. VCU’s goalie, Ria Peralta, saved five of the 11 goals attempted by the Chippewas.
“She’s a small goalie,” Lemay said about Peralta. “She moves around and covers all throughout the goal and she comes out a lot. I think it made us a better team just because she was so good and she challenged us.”
In the second half, Lemay scored within the first seven minutes. Clare Murphy scored for the Rams 10 minutes later. At 8:57, VCU’s Mackenzie Galli made a goal to tie the score at 5-5.
Freshman Auguste Jepsen started the game off for CMU at the draw. CMU freshman Anna Schoonover scored the first goal of the game at 26:33.
Lemay scored the second goal at 22:52, making the score 2-0. The Rams came back with three goals, two from Molly Barcikowski and one by Sky Hyatt.
Lemay scored two more goals in the last eight minutes, which made the halftime score 4-3.
Freshman defender Kelly Spehar and freshman midfielder Logan Halvorson picked up four ground balls each. Schoonover and freshman midfielder Summer Abdalla each made an assist.
“We had some unforced turnovers in the second half that we didn’t have in the first half,” said freshman defender Katherine Sharp. “But we came out strong from those. We pushed through, despite errors, and just knew that we would be successful.”
The Chippewas will face Marquette on March 19 in Milwaukee. The Golden Eagles are 2-5 in their 2016 season.
