A dramatic second-half comeback by the AU Women's Lacrosse team fell short Sunday as the Eagles lost, 10-6, to the University of Richmond on Reeves Field. Trailing the Spiders 6-2 at halftime, the Eagles got within one goal. But thanks to a questionable foul call, Richmond pulled away, giving the Eagles their second loss to the Spiders in two years.
The foul came as AU closed a four-goal deficit to get the game to 7-6. With momentum on the Eagles' side but with Richmond pressuring, the Spiders' Kristen Habicht scored a back-breaking goal over freshmen goalie Kristine Vida's shoulder off a foul called at the 8-meter line to put the Spiders up 8-6.
AU coach Ashley Flanigan disagreed with the call. "Refs are going to make calls that have to be made," Flanigan said, "but it was a bad call."
The goal came just 13 seconds after the Eagles had pulled within one.
AU had been fighting an uphill battle since the opening seconds, after Richmond's Habicht scored the first goal of the game off the opening face-off. The goal foreshadowed what would come. AU's Achilles' heel throughout the game was lost face-offs and problems with draw control.
"Draw control is so important," Flanigan said, "and the team with more possessions usually ends up winning."
Junior Moriah Linnell added, "Only the ball can go in the goal."
Habicht scored again minutes later to put the Spiders up 2-0. Only Mother Nature could cool down the Spiders' red-hot offense, as a storm swept through and delayed the game for 45 minutes. The rain left the field soaked, but Linell, who scored twice to bring her total this year to 15, wouldn't allow that muddy field to justify the team's play.
"We lost a lot of footing, but we can't make excuses," Flanigan said. "[Richmond] had the same playing conditions."
AU came back from the delay to pull within one after an unassisted Linnell goal, but the Eagles' inability to win the following face-off led to a Richmond goal only 12 seconds later. That sparked a four-goal Spider run, including one more by Habicht, to make the score 6-2.
Richmond's sticky defense and grinding offense meant AU didn't have many scoring chances early, and the team was on its heels for most of the first half. With just minutes left in the half, Flanigan pulled the starting goalie, Kathleen Finnegan, and put in Vida, who made an excellent stick save to keep the game within reach going into halftime.
AU drew first blood in the second half off a Chelsea Kapp free position goal, and as the Eagles mounted their comeback, the Spiders began to play a more conservative offense. This decision by Richmond nearly came back to bite the Spiders, as they wasted time trying to give their defense a breather by passing and holding the ball instead of shooting after the three goals scored by AU.
When AU pulled within one goal, it seemed the Spiders' conservative play could have become a missed opportunity to put the scrappy Eagles away. However, after sophomore Caithlin Gorman's second goal, a diving shot that bounced past Richmond's goalie, the Eagles sticks were silenced.
The win gives the Spiders their second straight victory to bring their record to 2-4. Three of their losses came from ranked teams, including No. 7 Maryland, No. 4 Duke and Virginia, the No. 1 team in the country.
Meanwhile, the Eagles dropped below .500 to a record of 3-4. They return to Reeves Field for their Patriot League home opener against Villanova Saturday at noon.
