Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 3/10/12
From Press Releases
Junior Jessica Rothstein (Harriton) scored her fifth goal of the game with two minutes to play in the second overtime period gave Lafayette a 17-16 sudden-victory over Duquesne on Saturday evening at Rappolt Field.
Lafayette’s triumph, and Rothstein’s score, was made possible when sophomore Ana White (Strath Haven) netted her second goal of the game as time expired in the initial overtime session. Trailing 16-15 with three seconds remaining, White – who collected an astounding 13 draw controls – was fouled in the Leopards’ offensive end and was awarded an eight-meter attempt. Her first shot was denied by Duquesne netminder Liz Walker, but White pounced on the rebound and shot the ball past Walker before the horn to send the game into double overtime.
The game started with a tally from both teams in the opening minute as Haley Marafioti, who totaled five goals for Duquesne (3-3), and Lafayette’s Addie Godfrey each found the back of the net. Eight minutes in, the Dukes took a 2-1 advantage when Caitlin Prince beat Lafayette goalie Mimi Connell (Paoli native) with the first of her game-high six goals.
Lafayette (4-3) responded with the next five scores over a seven-minute stretch to take a 6-2 lead with 11:38 to play in the first half. Rothstein scored four times during the run, while White added the other and assisted Rothstein’s final marker to give the Leopards their largest lead of the game.
Marafioti added two unassisted goals to make it 6-4 with 9:23 showing before Katie Mischler’s (Mount St. Joseph) free-position goal pushed the Lafayette lead to 7-4 at 7:32.
Clare Hurley converted a free-position opportunity three minutes later before Prince drew the Dukes within a goal at 3:28.
A pair of goals 12 seconds apart with less than a minute remaining in the half extended Lafayette’s lead to 9-6 going into the break. Erin Steel beat Walker on an eight-meter before White controlled the ensuing draw, one of her 13 which sets a new Patriot League single-game record, and passed to Godfrey to set up her second goal of the half.
Eighteen seconds into the second half, Hurley cut the deficit to 9-7. Laura Kleiber’s free-position goal preceded Victoria Maxon feeding Mischler for her second score to once again extend the cushion to four (11-7) in favor of Lafayette.
Duquesne would then score three in a row in less than two minutes of action to run the score to 11-10 with 20:22 left in regulation. Over the next nine minutes, the teams traded goals, scoring three apiece as Lafayette held a 14-13 lead with 11:27 remaining in the second half. Margaux LeBuffe, Godfrey and Steel scored for the Maroon and White during that stretch.
The visitors finally tied the game at 9:21 when Amanda Kidder beat Connell on an eight-meter attempt. A minute later, with Duquesne threatening to take the lead, Connell was red-carded and replaced in the Lafayette cage by Meghan Curtin (Penn Charter). The sophomore stepped in and immediately made a save on the near post to preserve the tie, one of four she made in 18:20 in front of the Leopards’ net.
Kleiber put Lafayette ahead 15-14 at 5:26 with her second tally of the game, but Marafioti sent the game into overtime with her goal with 94 seconds remaining.
The overtime began with Prince scoring five seconds into the six-minute extra session, giving Duquesne its first lead since the 22:04 mark of the first half. The rest of the period was scoreless before White’s heroics at the buzzer.
Duquesne outshot Lafayette 34-30 in the game and held a 17-7 edge in ground balls. Lafayette controlled 22 of the 37 draws, including White’s 13.
