PERRY, Ohio – The Lake Erie women's lacrosse team used a second-half surge to shoot past the Shepherd University Rams, 21-15, on Sunday (April 11) afternoon at Perry High School's Alumni Stadium.

Meredith Howe (Fayetteville, N.Y./Jamesville Dewilt) scored a Storm season-high 10 goals and added three assists. Both of those totals are just three shy of matching the NCAA Division II single-game record.

The teams went into halftime tied at 11-11 and the Rams scored the opening goal of the second half to take a one-goal lead, but Lake Erie responded with a vengeance.

Howe tied the game at 12 to start a six-goal rally for the Storm that turned the one-goal deficit into a 17-12 lead. The stretch included three goals by Howe, two by Kim Dang (Atlanta, Ga./Jackson) that were assisted by Howe and one goal by Allison Trombetti (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy).

The Rams (2-10) did not get closer than four goals after Lake Erie's scoring binge.

The Storm actually had a 8-3 early lead and looked to be on its way to a rout, but the Rams ripped off five straight goals to tie the game at 8-8.

Shepherd took a brief 11-10 lead before Brittany Rabuano (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) scored with just 16 seconds left in the half to tie the game.

The Storm was helped by four yellow cards by the Falcons, leading to five Storm goals. Lake Erie also won the battle in draw controls (24-13) and shots (40-37).

Brittanie Johnson (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) was outstanding in goal for the Storm, stopping 16 shots – including 10 in the second half – to help secure the victory.

Rabuano finished with four goals for the Storm while Dang added three.

Meanwhile, Howe's record-setting 10 goals gives her 32 on the season and a 5.3 goals per game average that would have ranked her first in the country heading into the week. (New NCAA statistical rankings will be released on Tuesday).

The Storm will return to the pitch on Wednesday (April 14) to resume its brief two-game homestand to take on Tiffin at 6 p.m.

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