MIDLAND, Michigan -- Lake Erie's women's lacrosse team battled Northwood in a thrilling G-MAC showdown on Friday afternoon, ultimately falling short 18-17. Despite trailing by five with just eight minutes remaining, the Storm mounted a furious comeback, scoring four goals in five minutes to give themselves a chance. However, Northwood's defense held firm in the closing moments, leaving Lake Erie with a 1-12 record and four games left in the season.

Game Recap

Madelyn Goodrich wasted no time getting into the scoring column, netting her 24th goal of the season to give her team an early lead. After Northwood responded with a score of their own, Brooke McNeal reclaimed the Storm lead as 10 minutes remained in the period. The following nine minutes would go by scoreless on both sides, but in final 26 seconds, the Timberwolves racked off three-straight goals to end the 1st up 4-2.

The home team continued their momentum in the second period, scoring yet again to go up by three-scores, yet Madelyn Goodrich was just getting started, halting the Northwood run with another goal at the 12:58 mark. After another Timberwolves goal, Reese Friesen joined the scoring party on her 12th goal of the season, marking a 6-4 deficit. Northwood wouldn't ease up, firing off another goal shortly after, but Goodrich had a quick answer, followed by freshman Olivia Sopraseuth's first goal of her career, making it a one-score game. The Timberwolves put up another goal in the following minutes, but McNeal and Goodrich responded with scores of their own, tying the game at 8-apiece. At the 4-minute mark, Northwood reclaimed the lead, but McNeal scored her hat-trick right before halftime, marking a 9-9 score as the teams entered the break.

The third period started in total control of the Timberwolves, as they rushed out to a three-goal lead. McNeal cut it down with her fourth goal of the game, but Northwood scored in 11 seconds to extend their lead back to three. With 17 seconds remaining, McNeal scored once again, seemingly ending the period on a high-note, but Northwood drove down the length of the field in seconds, scoring a buzzer-beating goal to be up 14-11 as the teams prepared for the 4th period. 

The final 15 minutes started out bleak. McNeal initially drove the deficit back to two, but three-straight Northwood goals seemingly put a bow on the game, as they led by five with 12 minutes remaining. Goodrich would score her fifth goal of the night, but the Timberwolves took all of 15 seconds to reclaim their five-goal lead. Down five with less than 10 minutes remaining, it would have been easy for the squad to chalk the battle as over, yet Lake Erie put their heart on the line and played some of their best lacrosse of the season. Rachel Rose scored with eight minutes remaining, and then Brooke McNeal went nuclear, scoring three consecutive goals in under four minutes to put her team down one with 2:59 remaining. However, despite two offensive possessions, the Storm weren't able to convert a last second magical goal to send the game into overtime, and ultimately fell by a score of 18-17.

Player Notes

• Brooke McNeal delivered an incredible performance, scoring nine goals, tying the second-most in a single game in program history. She now has 38 goals this season, ranking third in the G-MAC.
• Madelyn Goodrich scored five goals, her season high, and her 28 goals tie her for tenth in the conference.
• Reese Friesen contributed four assists, the most by a Lake Erie player in the last two seasons, and now leads the team with 13 assists.
• Shannon Smith and Brooke McNeal each grabbed seven ground balls and caused four turnovers.
• Ainsley Sutter made eight saves in the first 47 minutes, and Avery Artino added three saves in the final 12 minutes, allowing only one goal.

Team Notes

• Although Northwood fired off five more shots (45-40), the Storm were much more accurate on their attempts, having 31 shots on goal compared to just 23 for the Timberwolves.
• Lake Erie's defensive pressure was absolutely electric, as they caused 38 Northwood turnovers. This isn't just a season-high for the Storm, but a program record!
• Going off that, the Timberwolves went 10/24 on clear attempts, just 41.7%. That's the second-best rate for the Storm defense this season.
• The Storm was much more active on groundballs, gathering 29 compared to 19 for Northwood.
• The Timberwolves were hyper-efficient on draw controls, winning 31/38.

The Matchup

This was the first-ever meeting between the two programs, giving Northwood a 1-0 series lead.

Looking Ahead

The Storm stay on the road for a battle against Findlay on Sunday, April 6th at noon. Despite an overall record of 4-9, the Oilers are 3-1 in conference-play and have won their last two contests each in blowout-fashion. Junior Tessa Chuba is far-and-away Findlay's more productive attacker, responsible for 33 goals and 15 assists - both team highs.