Susquehanna Rides Second-Half Surge To Victory

SELINSGROVE, Pa. - It was a tale of two halves, as the Susquehanna University women's lacrosse team and King's College finished the first half knotted at eight goals apiece, but the Crusaders went on to score 15 goals in the second en route to a 23-10 win.

Susquehanna struck with the first two goals of the game, as Erin McGarrigle (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) and Sara Frackowiak (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) both scored unassisted within the first four minutes of play. After a King's goal, Frackowiak scored again, this time on a pass from Meghan Cadigan (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes).

King's went on a four-goal run before Mary Minuni (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown) scored at 21:27, with Heather Linton (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) following two minutes later to tie the game back up. The Lady Monarch scored twice over the next five minutes, but Susquehanna got two goals in a minute, first from Rachel Devilbiss (Taneytown, Md./Francis Scott Key) to Janey Arronson (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Harriton), then an unassisted one by McGarrigle. Cadigan scored with 59 seconds left to put the Crusaders up a goal, but King's knotted things up in the final 30 seconds.

The second half, however, was all Susquehanna, although it started inauspiciously as the two teams traded goals, McGarrigle scoring her third of the day. Then the Crusaders went on a 13-goal run, as Cadigan found the net three times, Frackowiak, McGarrigle and Arronson each scored twice, and Linton, Devilbiss, Katelyn Deese (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) and Kelly Coffey (Northhampton, Mass./Williston-Northhampton) added one apiece. Devilbiss, Linton, Deese, Frackowiak and Coffey also had assists over that span.

King's found the net one last time in the final two minutes, then Susquehanna's Kayla MacMillan (Woodstock, Conn./Hyde School) sent home a free-position shot with less than a minute to go for the 23rd goal.

Deese led the Crusaders with six ground balls, seven draw controls and four caused turnovers. Cindy Wilson (West Chester, Pa./Henderson) added six ground balls as well and Linton had four.

The action stayed away from goalie Jess Weiss (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./William Tennent) for most of the day, as she faced only 17 shots on goal, making seven saves. Susquehanna peppered the King's goalie with 39 shots on goal.