EMMITSBURG, Md. – Old Dominion lacrosse fell just short against Mount St. Mary’s on Sunday afternoon by a 9-8 score.
Mount St. Mary’s (3-3) set the pace early in courtesy of goals from Madison Harmening and Anna Salerno, both coming within the first four minutes of the first quarter. Sarah Murrell scored first for the Monarchs (6-2) with 10 minutes to go, though the Mountaineers continued to add to their lead after goals from Brooke Molchanoff and Peyton Sims, giving them a strong 4-1 lead by the end of the first.
Harmening needed just 40 seconds to extend Mount St. Mary’s lead in the second quarter. Both teams battled tough defensively, only allowing the next goal to come with four minutes left in the first half, recorded by Murrell once again on a free position shot. Logan Cook then gave the Mountaineers a 6-2 lead to go into halftime by scoring with just 30 seconds left in the second quarter.
Less than five minutes into the third quarter, Murrell recorded her fifth hat trick of the season, and extended her goal count for the game to four three minutes later. Mount St. Mary’s responded with six minutes left in the third with a goal from Anna McQuay on a free-position shot, and teammate Christian Haspert would score in the same position with under two minutes to go. Alex Kulinski grabbed her first goal of the game at the 29 second mark, allowing the Monarchs to go into the fourth quarter down just 8-5.
While the Mountaineers scored within the first two minutes of the fourth quarter in courtesy of a free-position shot from Salerno, ODU turned on the jets and began to attack offensively. Katie Pfeiler found the back of the net with 13 minutes to go, and Murrell recorded her second straight five-goal game just eight minutes later. Sydney Taylor grabbed her own goal to bring the Monarchs just one point shy of tying it up, though they were unable to score as the clock inevitably ran out, giving Mount St. Mary’s a 9-8 win.
Murrell led ODU in scoring with five goals, while Kulinski, Pfeiler, and Taylor accounted for one each. Five Monarchs had two ground balls each, while Murrell had a team-high six draw controls. Goalie Brynn Bowen had eight saves, bringing her season total up to 61.
Old Dominion returns home to challenge Charlotte on Saturday, March 15 at 12 p.m. at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex.