Lacrosse snaps losing streak in sudden death overtime
Freshman attacker Natalie Karlen scored the game-winning goal on a pass from Jocelyne Lemay to give the Central Michigan lacrosse team a victory in sudden death overtime Thursday night at the Lacrosse/Soccer Complex.
The Chippewas snapped a four-game losing streak and defeated Old Dominion, the defending Atlantic Sun Conference champions, 11-10 .
“My heart was racing a little bit,” Karlen said. “We’ve been practicing that all week and I knew Jocelyne would pass it to me so I was ready.”
Neither team could find the net before Karlen opened the scoring with 17:36 left in the half to give CMU a 1-0 lead.
The Chippewas scored three more goals before the Monarchs cut CMU’s lead to 4-1 going into the break.
In addition to Karlen, Tyra Prince, Emma Hamilton and Lemay each scored in the first half for the Chippewas.
The second half was a back-and-forth contest, with the Chippewas clinging to a lead most of the way before Old Dominion’s Lauren Irvine tied the game at 10 with less than five minutes remaining.
The Monarchs controlled play for much of the final minutes, but freshman goalkeeper Hope Murray made several key saves.
“Hope Murray was lights out tonight," said Head Coach Sara Tisdale. “For her to come back this week and make adjustments was great.”
Central Michigan will hit the road to face Delaware State and Howard before returning home to wrap up the regular season against in-state rival Detroit Mercy on May 29.
The four teams are each battling for the final playoff spot.
