Second Half Comeback Falls Short in Season Opener Against Philadelphia, 14-11
March 25, 2006
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. -
A strong second half performance was not enough
for the Shippensburg University Lacrosse team, as the Lady Raiders fell
to the Rams of Philadelphia University, 14-11, on Saturday afternoon in the
season opening contest at Robb Sports Complex.
Shippensburg
(0-1) opened up the game with three goals in the first seven minutes of play,
with the first coming off the stick of last year’s leading scorer,
senior Kim Hudicka (Media, Pa./Penncrest). Hudicka opened
the scoring at 5:38, and senior
Cristin Marron (Exton, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) followed up
with a free-position goal before assisting on a marker from senior Lauren
Wells (Royersford, Pa./Spring Ford) at 7:00.
For the remainder of the half, however, Philadelphia (4-3) dominated the action, as the Rams embarked upon a 9-1 run over the final 23 minutes of play. Philadelphia broke a 4-4 tie at 22:42 with five consecutive goals over the final seven minutes of the half. The Rams were paced by three goals from Jenna Tursi as well as two goals and one assist from Allison Kessler.
Philadelphia added four more goals in the first sixteen minutes of the second half to take a 13-4 lead, wrapping up a stretch of nine unanswered goals over the span of 26 minutes. It was not until the 48:28 mark of the second half that Hudicka responded with her third goal of the day, an unassisted shot with 11:32 remaining to break the dry spell for Shippensburg and bring the score to 13-5.
Hudicka's goal began a major comeback attempt for Shippensburg, as Marron scored twice in one minute on assists by sophomore Brita Paul (Salisbury, Md./James Bennett) and Hudicka. After a fourth goal from Philadelphia’s Tursi, freshman Hannah Sperber (Millersville, Md./Severna Park) scored her first career goal with 9:05 remaining to bring the score to 14-8.
Wells added three consecutive goals in a seven-minute span to bring the score to 14-11, marking a career-high four goal game for Wells. Wells only managed five goals for all of last season, and finished the opening game with four.
Wells, Marron, and Hudicka combined for 10 of the Lady Raiders’ 11 goals, and Hudicka added two assists, four draw controls and six ground balls on the day. Junior goalkeeper Michelle Mangle (Philadelphia, Pa./St. Hubert Catholic) recorded eight saves on the afternoon.
The Lady Raiders return to action on Tuesday for their first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) game, a home matchup against West Chester University. Game time is 4:00 p.m.
- Lady Raider Lacrosse -
