WATERVILLE, Maine - The seventh-ranked Colby College women's lacrosse team scored three goals in the final 6:35 of the game to turn a 10-8 deficit into an 11-10 home opener win over 12th ranked Tufts University on Friday in New England Small College Athletic Conference play at Bill Alfond Field.
Colby is 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the NESCAC heading into its three-game Florida trip. The Mules will take on Eastern Connecticut on Sunday at 2 p.m. in Clermont. Tufts falls to 1-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The Jumbos appeared to get an insurance goal from Kerry Eaton (Norfolk, MA) with 7:27 remaining to put Tufts up 10-8. Colby, though, got a key goal off a free position shot from Kate Gragnolati (Chevy Chase, MD) with 6:35 to play. The teams then battled over the next five minutes until the Mules' Lindsey McKenna (Fairfield, CT) tallied with 1:37 to play off an assist from Casey Thomas (Needham, MA).
Kat McCarrick (Wellesley, MA) earned a big draw control for Colby after the McKenna goal. The Mules called time-out with 49 seconds left and made quick work after the break. Katie Griffin (Duxbury, MA) received the ball on the right side of the goal and ripped a shot past Tufts keeper Sara Bloom (Summit, NJ) with 43 seconds left.
The Jumbos' Sterling Champion (Lighthouse Point, FL) won the draw control after the Griffin goal and gave Tufts one last chance. Lara Kozin (Suffern, NY) got off a hard shot with nine seconds left, but was turned away by Colby goaltender Sarah Warnke (Lakeville, CT).
McKenna finished with four goals and one assist. Kate Pistel (Amherst, MA) had a big all-around game with two goals, five ground balls, three caused turnovers and two draw controls. Griffin had two goals and both of them were big. Besides the game-winning score, she also had the Mules' first goal after Tufts had jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Tess Petesch (Rockville, MD) and Alex Mintz (Mountain Lakes, NJ) also scored for the winners.
Kozin finished with two goals and two assists for Tufts. Eaton and Stephanie Perez (East Providence, RI) also had two goals, while Casey Egan (Massapequa, NY), Kelly Hyland (Acton, MA), Gabby Horner (Allentown, NJ) and Kaitlyn Leidl (Califon, NJ) all had one goal.
Warnke finished with nine saves, including five stops in the second half, to earn her 41st career victory. McCarrick joined Pistel with game-high ground ball honors with five, while fellow defender Mary Cummings (Summit, NJ) had three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Kelly Cakert (Sudbury, MA) had a game-high four caused turnovers and finished with two draw controls for Tufts. Emily Pillemer (Arlington, MA) also was strong with five draw controls, three caused turnovers, and two groundballs.
Game Box Score
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Game release courtesy of Colby College
