Lacrosse Falls in OT at St. Francis

The Central Connecticut lacrosse team fell to St. Francis (PA) in overtime on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Devils and Red Flash finished the first half tied at 6-6 and then finished regulation tied at 16-16, but a pair of goals by St. Francis in overtime gave them the 18-17 victory. The loss drops the Blue Devils to 6-6 on the season and 1-4 in Northeast Conference play. Sophomore Meaghan McCurry led the way for the Blue Devils with 4 goals and three assists, including the game tying score.

After falling behind 1-0 the Blue Devils responded with a 5-1 run that gave them a commanding lead. Junior Ashley Perkoski assisted senior Michelle Conway for the Blue Devils first strike and then two minutes later sophomore Mackenzy Ryan found the back of the net giving Central its first lead of the game.

After a St. Francis goal the Blue Devils rattled off three straight scores as Betsy Vendel scored with some help from sophomore Meaghan McCurry. Sophomore Ali Roche scored the next point off of a pass from freshman Amanda Toke and finally Perkoski picked up her first goal of the game off of McCurry's second assist of the afternoon.

Unfortunately, the Blue Devils couldn't contain the Red Flash who scored four more times in the first half. The half ended in a 6-6 tie with the Blue Devils final goal of the period coming from Conway, with Perkoski picking up her second assist.

The Blue Devils scored the first four goals of the second half building a 10-6 lead. Conway, McCurry, freshman Claire Healy and Vendel all had scores in the run.

After a pair of goals by the Red Flash, senior Cara Momnie, Vendel and McCurry each scored a goal giving the Blue Devils a 13-8 lead.

But the Blue Devil defense couldn't hold St. Francis. The Red Flash scored seven unanswered goals over a 14 minute period. The impressive run gave St. Francis a 15-13 lead with only 1:32 left in the game.

McCurry and Momnie scored quick goals to tie the game for the Blue Devils, but another St. Francis goal with only 24 seconds left gave the home team a 16-15 lead.

Central responded once more as Vendel passed to McCurry for a goal with only 17 seconds left in the game, tying the score at 16 and forcing overtime.

St. Francis took the lead with 3:10 left in the overtime period, and then scored again ten seconds later to take the 18-16 advantage.

Momnie scored her third goal of the game to cut the lead to one, but the Blue Devils were never able to tie the score.

The Blue Devils return to action on Sunday against Sacred Heart, it will be the Blue Devils final home game of the regular season.