It's a good thing AU Women's Lacrosse scored four goals in the first 4:37 of the second half, for it was enough to diminish a late-match charge by the visiting Monmouth Hawks in Saturday's non-conference match.
But in the end, AU held on to win, 12-8, at Reeves Field despite being outscored by Monmouth 4-2 in the final 18 minutes of the game.
The Eagles (6-6, 4-0 Patriot League) will take their second consecutive win, but not without forgetting how they almost squandered a 10-4 lead in the second half during the Hawks' onslaught.
"It was mental lapses," said AU coach Ashley Flanigan. "We've had those the last few games and we're all aware of them. Some of it is our depth, which makes us get tired. We'll have to figure out how to not make those lapses."
Junior attacker Rebecca Copeland led the Eagles with three goals and an assist, while senior midfielder Nicole McCarthy chipped in a hat trick. Copeland could credit two of her goals to help from senior attacker Lindsay Cartin (three assists), who fed the attacker with sharp passes from behind the goal.
Copeland also managed two improbable tallies from the goalmouth by firing backhanded without even facing the net.
But it was the Eagles' last line of defense that came through when the Hawks put the pressure on. Sophomore goalkeeper Kathleen Finnegan made six of her nine saves in the second half to keep her team one step ahead of Monmouth.
Her first-half saves were also crucial. She got a stick in the way of three Monmouth attempts in the first eight minutes to keep the game in control.
The Eagles were fortunate to get those saves, as the first half remained tight and AU led only 6-4 heading into the break. But early in the second half, things changed as AU rattled off four quick goals.
"We assessed ourselves at the half and tried to find out what we needed to do for a win," Flanigan said. And what did they come up with?
"Draw controls were huge, because those mean possession. We got the first few of them, and that helped a lot."
This statistic was telling at the end of the game as AU dominated the category, 16-6. Perhaps the first draw of the second half was the biggest, as the Eagles scored their quickest goal of the season from their premier freshman. Freshman midfielder Caitlin Gorman sped from midfield to the Monmouth goal to score only 10 seconds into play to earn her 11th goal of the season.
AU now has one regular-season home game remaining as it hosts Holy Cross (6-7, 2-3 PL) Saturday. But perhaps its most important match remaining is an April 24 showdown in Hamilton, N.Y., against Colgate (8-4, 4-0), the only other undefeated team in the PL. Should the Eagles go undefeated in conference play for the first time in history, they will host the PL tournament beginning May 1 as they seek to defend their title.
