PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Plymouth State University put together a fierce fourth-quarter rally to turn a 13-9 deficit into a one-goal game, but the Panthers were unable to complete the comeback in a 13-12 setback to The College of Wooster at the Spring Fling Women's Lacrosse Tournament at Publix Sports Park on Thursday morning.
Sophomore
Paige Rivet (Merrimack, N.H.) gave the Panthers an 8-6 lead in the third quarter, but the Fighting Scots rallied with a 7-1 surge to pull in front, 13-9, with 8:24 to play. Junior
Julia Donovan (Antrim, N.H.) scored her fifth goal of the game to start the comeback bid as the Panthers chipped away at the lead. Donovan assisted on a tally from senior
Tarryn O'Brien (Weymouth, Mass.) with 2:33 on the clock, then set up junior
Maddie Hunt (Littleton, Mass.) less than a minute later to pull within one.
The Panthers got the ball back with 14 seconds to go and called timeout. PSU got into the attacking zone, but a Wooster defender got a stick on a pass and the Panthers' last ditch shot attempt was too late.
Plymouth State moves to 3-2, while Wooster improves to 5-1.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 12, Wooster 13
- Plymouth State (3-2)
- Wooster (5-1)
How it Happened:
- Wooster struck first, but Donovan answered with back-to-back goals to take a 2-1 lead into the second quarter.
- The teams alternated goals with Hunt and sophomore Katie Moore (Salem, N.H.) finding the back of the cage for PSU. Wooster pulled even with a goal in the final seconds as the game went into halftime deadlocked at 4-4.
- Donovan and junior Jenna Stowell (Londonderry, N.H.) gave the Panthers a two-goal cushion early in the third and the teams traded goals over the next four minutes. Wooster pulled to within 6-5, but O'Brien had the answer with 10:33 left, and following another Fighting Scots' tally, Rivet's woman-up goal gave PSU an 8-6 advantage with 8:24 remaining in the quarter.
- Wooster rallied, scoring the final five goals of the third to pull ahead, 11-8.
- Donovan scored while the Panthers were down a player, but the Fighting Scots responded with two straight to lead 13-9 with 8:24 to play.
- Donovan poured in her fifth goal of the day to start the Panthers' comeback bid.
- O'Brien made it a two-score game with 2:33 left, and Hunt's woman-up score with 1:43 on the clock cut the deficit to 13-12.
- Wooster controlled the ensuing draw, though, and burned much of the clock. The Panthers had one last chance as they controlled the ball with 14 seconds to play, but the final shot came after the horn.
By the Numbers:
- Donovan matched a career high with eight points, finishing with five goals and three assists. She added two ground balls and three caused turnovers while converting 2-of-3 free position attempts.
- Hunt (two goals, one assist), O'Brien (two goals) and Stowell (one goal, one assist) also had multi-point games.
- Stowell matched a game-high with seven draw controls and added a pair of ground balls.
- Senior Megan Gaspa (Laconia, N.H.) chipped in four ground balls, four draw controls and five caused turnovers.
- Junior Margie Black (Longmeadow, Mass.) made eight saves in the setback.
- PSU held a 28-21 advantage in shots on goal.
- The Panthers were 15-of-19 in clear attempts, while Wooster finished 16-of-22.
- Plymouth State controlled the draw by a 16-12 margin.
- The contest was the first meeting between the two teams.
Up Next:
- Plymouth State returns home to face Bates on Wednesday (Mar. 20) at 4:00 p.m.
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