Box Score WEST CHESTER, Pa. –
Hannah Cowan (Wilmington, Del./Ursuline Academy) scored with three seconds left in the game to lift 15th-ranked West Chester to an 11-10 victory over ninth-ranked LIU-Post in a non-conference women's lacrosse match at Vonnie Gros Field Wednesday.
West Chester (11-4) increased its winning streak to six straight with the upset over LIU-Post (12-3). The win also halted a two-game winning streak for the Pioneers in the series between the two lacrosse powerhouses. West Chester's last win over LIU-Post came in the 2012 regular season at home. LIU-Post still leads the all-time series 9-7.
LIU-Post's Jenna Pierro was issued her second yellow card of the game with 1:33 left in the contest and West Chester clinging to a 10-9 lead. However, the Pioneers forced a turnover with 57 seconds left and called a timeout. Out of the timeout, LIU-Post's Honey Roche tied the game with 28 ticks left while Pierro was still in the box.
The Rams'
Erin Scheno (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) won the ensuing draw control to gain possession for the hosts, who led for all but 25 seconds of the match. Cowan took a pass from
Ashley Pyle (Springfield, Pa./Garnet Valley) and buried her shot with just three seconds left in the game, sending the Rams' bench and WCU faithful into a frenzy.
West Chester scored the first three goals of the game while a hard rain fell on Vonnie Gros Field for much of the first 30 minutes.
Erin Gallagher (Narbeth, Pa./Lower Merion) opened the scoring nine minutes into the affair off an assist from
Dina Cifelli (Robinsville, N.J./Notre Dame).
Sarah Dennison (Fallston, Md./John Carroll) then scored on a free position almost two minutes later, and Cowan potted the first of her three on the day at the 18:31 mark.
From there, the Golden Rams played the Pioneers even until halftime, carrying a 6-3 advantage into the break. For the first 10 minutes of the second half, West Chester and LIU-Post traded a pair of goals, and the hosts held an 8-5 edge. That is when the visitors made their move towards a comeback.
Pierro and Emily Delaney netted tallies three minutes apart to pull the Pioneers within one, 8-7. But, Pyle answered for the Rams to restore its two-goal margin. Stefani Vagelatos made it a one-goal game once more at the 10:56 mark. However,
Erin Eckert (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) registered her third goal of the game to push the lead back to a pair (10-8).
Pierro scored her third goal of the game at the 3:24 mark, before being sent off with under two minutes to play. That inched LIU-Post back to a single possession game and set the stage for the dramatics at the end.
The difference in the game came at the 8-meter circle where West Chester was 4-for-7 on its free position opportunities while LIU-Post went 1-for-2. West Chester also forced LIU-Post into 22 turnovers, causing half of those miscues.
Cifelli finished with a team-high four points (1G, 3A) while both Cowan and Eckert recorded hat tricks (3 goals).
Merrilee Viguers (Malvern, Pa./Great Valley) (8-3) made six saves in the cage to backstop the win. She came up with some big saves when West Chester needed her most, preventing LIU-Post from getting too much momentum.
West Chester concludes the regular season on Saturday at East Stroudsburg with a 1 p.m. match. A win over the Warriors would clinch third place in the league standings and the third seed in the postseason tournament. A third- or fourth-place finish in the regular season standings would earn West Chester a home game in the PSAC Quarterfinals. That game would be played on Tuesday, April 28 at 4 p.m. at Vonnie Gros Field.
