NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. (April 11) – Bridget Doyle's goal with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter lifted the Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team to a dramatic 11-10 victory over Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Westminster College.
Following an errant shot out of bounds, Doyle took the restart, curled around the cage and, let go of a blast from five meters out, tucking it inside the crossbar for the game-winning goal to cap off a back-and-forth thriller that featured 10 ties and 11 lead changes.
The goal capped off a six-point day for Doyle, who tallied three goals and three assists, while it moved Saint Vincent (7-4, 2-2 PAC) back to the .500 mark in PAC play.
Doyle was one of three SVC players to record multiple goals, with Maggie Edwards scoring four and Kaylee Bandow three, while Hannah-Marie Starner scored one goal and tied teammate Rachel Thatcher for the team lead with four draw controls.
Thatcher also led the Bearcats with six caused turnovers, while she tied Edwards and Doyle for the team lead with six ground balls.
Bailey Nicely played all 60 minutes in goal, making eight saves to earn the win.
Saint Vincent outshot Westminster 36-23 for the game, while the Bearcats more than doubled-up the Titans in ground balls, 33-26. The Bearcats forced 21 Westminster turnovers while committing 15, while SVC went 20-for-22 on clear attempts to the Titans' 18-for 26 performance.
Less than a minute into the first quarter, Edwards gave the Bearcats an early 1-0 lead with her first tally of the evening, only to see the Titans score twice in an 80-second span and take a 2-1 lead with 12:00 left in the quarter. SVC answered with goals from Starner and Bandow to regain a 3-2 lead, but the Titans scored twice over the final three minutes of the quarter to regain a 4-3 advantage after 15 minutes.
The teams continued to trade goals – and the lead – throughout the second quarter. After the Titans scored 40 seconds into the frame to open up a 5-3 lead, SVC received two goals from Doyle and one from Edwards to jump in front 6-5. The Titans scored the next two goals to go in front 7-6 with 3:22 left in the half, before Bandow sent the game into the intermission tied at 7-all with her second goal of the game.
Forty seconds into a more defensive-themed third quarter, Bandow scored her third goal of the night to give the lead back to SVC, 8-7. Twelve minutes later, Edwards netted a goal off of a Doyle assist to increase the lead to two, but a Westminster goal in the final minute of the quarter trimmed the gap to one heading into the final frame.
The back-and-forth theme continued throughout the fourth quarter. The Titans tied the game at 9-9 76 seconds into the quarter, but Edwards countered with her fourth of the night to give the lead back to SVC with 8:21 to go. The teams would trade scoreless possessions over the next five minutes, with each goalie making two saves over the span, before the Titans' Stephanie Cimini scored with 3:40 left to tie it at 10-10.
Following Cimini's equalizer, SVC's Georgie Volna caused a turnover that led to a lengthy SVC possession, but the visitors would come up empty. On the ensuing clear attempt, the Bearcats' Carolina Walters caused a turnover, with the groundball corralled by Starner with 59 seconds remaining. With 33 seconds left, Doyle sent a shot wide, but the Bearcats retained possession, and her next shot found the cage for the game-winner.
After Doyle's go-ahead goal, the Titans controlled the draw but promptly turned it over and Edwards scooped up the loose ball with 10 seconds left to seal the win, SVC's fourth straight in its series with Westminster.
The Bearcats will be back in action on Saturday, April 15, returning to northwestern Pennsylvania to face off against PAC foe Allegheny College at 4 p.m. at the Robertson Athletic Complex.
