SALEM, Va.-The Limestone College women's lacrosse team overcame a five-goal deficit from the first half, but the Lock Haven Eagles were able to hold on for the 13-12 victory in today's NCAA Division II semifinal game. Lock Haven advances to play the winner of the C.W. Post/Adelphi semifinal game on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. for the NCAA Division II national title. Limestone's season ends with a 17-3 record.

Limestone trailed 8-4 at halftime, but the Lady Saints bounced back to outscore Lock Haven 8-5 in the second half.

"I'm really proud of the team," commented Limestone Head Coach Scott Tucker. "They worked really hard in the second half to get in distance to win, and Lock Haven played a great game. Our team didn't give up and that's what we like to see."

"The big thing about today's game was that our seniors really stepped up," continued Tucker. "We needed leaders to gain the momentum after halftime."

Lauryn Wise (Pasadena, Md.) led Limestone's attack with four goals, while Katie Ilott had three goals and two caused turnovers. Kelly Oterson (Islip Terrace, N.Y.) had two goals. Kelly Lickert (Penn Yan, N.Y.), Melissa Howard (Ferndale, Md.), and Renee Albro (Purcellville, Va.) also scored. Wise led her team with five draw controls as Ilott had four and Howard had three. Erin Growney (Rochester, N.Y.) had a game-high four ground balls. Goalkeeper Brigid Milchling (Cockeysville, Md.) had six saves and two ground balls.

Amber Hoch led Lock Haven with five goals as Kayleigh Johnson chipped in three. Kira Nuttall had 11 saves for the Eagles.

Lock Haven jumped out to a 2-0 lead at the start of the game, but Limestone rattled off 4 straight goals to gain the 4-2 advantage. However, the Eagles took the lead again with five consecutive goals. After halftime, Limestone's defense buckled down, and then went on a five-goal run to take a 10-9 lead.

"We were smart on attack and took the time to pull out if we needed to and look for a new opportunity," said Ilott. "After our four-goal run in the first half, we knew we could come back."

In the second half, the Lady Saints' defense held the Eagles scoreless until LHU scored on a free-position goal with 13:24 remaining in the game.

"On defense, we just made sure we talked constantly," commented Milchling. "We put our heads down. We really took to heart what Lauryn said at halftime, that we should have fun and play the way we had all year."

The game was back and forth throughout the rest of the period, and the score was tied with a little over two minutes left to play. Titus scored the game-winning goal for the Eagles with only 55 seconds left on the clock. Ilott had a last-second shot for the Lady Saints, but Lock Haven's goalkeeper came up with a big save to give her team the win.

Limestone dominated on draw controls, 17-10. Lock Haven held the 27-26 advantage on shots, and edged Limestone in ground balls, 13-11. The Eagles were 15-15 in clears as the Lady Saints were 12-14. LHU was 5-5 in free-position attempts as Limestone had 4 goals on its 10 attempts.

"We've had a strong season and it was great to play at the national level," commented Wise, one of Limestone's eight seniors. "Our senior class has had a great four years, and we have a great up and coming team that will carry on the Limestone lacrosse legacy."

2009-05-16