LA CROSSE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's lacrosse team fell to UW-La Crosse 13-12 in a hard-fought Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) contest on Wednesday. The Blugolds erased a six-goal deficit to take a lead early in the fourth quarter, but the Eagles surged in the final 10 minutes to hold on for the victory.
Victoria Shea (Fr. - Pleasant Prairie, Wis./Indian Trail) led UW-Eau Claire (10-4, 2-3) with three goals.
Alexie Romanelli (Jr. - Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) and
Lily Zygowicz (So. - Lafayette, Colo./Centaurus) added three points each, while
Reegan Werner (So. - Farmington, Minn.) and
Peyton Gullickson (So. - Rosemount, Minn.) chipped in with two points apiece.
UW-La Crosse (11-5, 4-2) scored the first six goals of the game to put UW-Eau Claire in an early hole. The Blugolds began to climb out of it in the second quarter though, where they outscored the Eagles 6-4 to bring the score to 8-6 at halftime. Werner and Shea both scored twice in the second period.
The Blugolds outscored the Eagles 4-1 in the third quarter to surge into the lead, with a goal from
Raegan Valois (So. - Shoreview, Minn./Mounds View) putting UW-Eau Claire ahead with 1:06 left in the period.
Gullickson padded the lead with a goal early in the fourth quarter to make the score 11-9 in UW-Eau Claire's favor, but the Eagles rallied with four straight goals to take the lead. Shea scored with 38 seconds left to slash the deficit to 13-12, but the Blugolds couldn't get any closer in the final seconds.
The Blugolds held advantages in ground balls (28) and draw controls (15). Shea accounted for seven of those draw controls.
Alexandria Shea (Jr. - Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) had six ground balls and made nine saves in net.
UW-Eau Claire will wrap up its regular season campaign with a home game against Southwestern on Friday, April 26. Game time is 2 p.m., and the Blugolds can clinch a spot in the WIAC Tournament with a victory.
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