St. Mary's City, Md. – Junior midfielder Lauren Carrier (Crownsville, Md./Old Mill) scored the game-winner with 7.1 seconds left in regulation as Carrier converted on a free position shot to lift the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team past Virginia Wesleyan College, 13-12, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon.

The Seahawks (4-2) overcame an 11-6 deficit at 16:52 with five unanswered goals including sophomore midfielder Caitlin Nichols' (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) goal at 3:11 which equalized the game at 11-11.

A local Leonardtown High School product, sophomore attacker Laura Norris (Hollywood, Md.) returned a one-goal lead to Virginia Wesleyan (1-2) with an unassisted goal at 2:47.

Sophomore defender Karissa Carroll (Long Island, N.Y./Ward Melville) won the ensuing draw control and worked it down into the Seahawk attacking end where sophomore attacker Kelsey Branch (Jarrettsville, Md./North Harford) found senior captain Elizabeth Northfield (Arnold, Md./Broadneck) who knotted the contest at 12-12 with her sixth goal of the season at 1:58.

A 6-0 run by Virginia Wesleyan which included a pair from Norris and two from junior attacker Bethany Adomanis (Arnold, Md./Spalding) gave the Marlins a 9-6 advantage at halftime.

Both Carrier and Branch notched five points in the win as Carrier registered a hat trick and two assists, while Branch had two goals and three assists. Junior midfielder Allie Zerhusen (Cockeysville, Md./Park) contributed her second straight three-goal, one-assist performance and won four draw controls as well.

St. Mary's outshot the Marlins, 38-28, while the ground balls were even at 20 all. The Seahawks won 17 draw controls behind six from Carrier.

Senior midfielder Jillian Boyd (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) led Virginia Wesleyan with three goals and an assist, while Adomanis, Norris and junior midfielder Kasey Marchwicki (Boyds, Md./Poolesville) each had a hat trick in the loss.

Freshman Ella Schoming (Westminster, Md./North Carroll) finished with nine saves, including seven in the first half, to improve to 4-2 in between the pipes.

Junior Ashley Sippel (Leesburg, Va./Ashburn Stone Bridge) had a strong game for the Marlins with 16 stops.

The Seahawks return to action next Wednesday, March 12, when St. Mary's faces Swarthmore College in non-conference action on neutral ground in San Antonio, Texas. The game will start at 4:30 (Central Standard Time).

2008-03-08