Poughkeepsie, NY - In a game full of lead changes, offensive surges and tireless comebacks, the Clarkson University Women's Lacrosse team came up just a goal short, falling 15-14 in Liberty League action against Vassar College at chilly Weinberg Field on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Knights dropped to 3-8 overall and 0-5 in league play while Vassar evened its overall record at 6-6 and moved to 2-4 in conference games.
The contest had an up and down ebb and flow, as each team went on unanswered scoring runs in efforts to create a lead that was never secure for either team. The Brewers scored five of the first half’s last seven goals to take a 9-6 lead at intermission. The Golden Knights opened the second half with five unanswered goals to take an 11-9 lead with 19:18 to play. From that point, the game was tied once, at 11-11 at 14:05, and then the Brewers surged ahead for a 14-11 lead, one of three goal margins Vassar would hold in the game with 11:04 to play. Clarkson produced a frenetic final two minutes that left the Golden Knights just barely short of forcing overtime.
Vassar's Sarah Warner tallied her fifth goal of the game, which turned out to be the game winner, with a piercing shot past Clarkson goalie Hannah Walters (Amherst, NH). The goal didn’t provide the Brewers with any measure of comfort, however, as Clarkson scored the next two goals, one from senior attack Alyssa Breed (Macedon, NY) with 4:29 to play and one from senior attack Emily Bojarski (Syracuse, NY) with 2:28 to play. Bojarski’s goal, Clarkson’s 14th of the game, came while playing down a player and created a dramatic finish.
With two minutes remaining, Golden Knights freshman midfielder Saryn Campbell (West Bolton, VT) sprinted the length of the field past the Vassar defense and connected with Breed on right side of the goal cage. Breed fired a shot that sailed just wide of Vassar sophomore goalie Nicole Engelhardt that would have otherwise found the upper right hand corner of the goal. The Golden Knights retained possession of the ball and with a minute remaining, junior midfielder Kimberly Loucks (Waterloo, NY) had her shot on goal saved by Engelhardt, who had seven stops in the game.
Loucks and Bojarski combed for eight goals and three assists, Loucks sharing game-high honors with five tallies. Alyssa Breed recorded her 13th assist of the season and 43rd of her career, breaking a time with former all-star Mary Rice for Clarkson's all-time record in assists.
The 29 combined goals took a while to materialize, as neither team scored for the first seven minutes of the game. In total, the contest was tied three times and was tight, largely due to nine saves from Walters who faced 33 Vassar shots. Seven different players had goals for Vassar while five players tallied goals for Clarkson.
