Juniors Caitlin Bell and Jackie Lane scored last-minute goals to force extra time but it was not enough for AU, as they lost to Lehigh 10-9 in double overtime on the road this past Saturday. The match ends the Eagles' PL season at 3-2, earning them the 3rd seed in the upcoming league tournament and drops their overall record to 8-7.
The Eagles got on the scoreboard first on a goal by Lauren Aksionoff to take an early 1-0 lead at the 26:01 mark of the first half.
The Mountain Hawks responded less than a minute later on a tally by Inneke Carmola to tie the game up at one. Lehigh added two more goals over the next ten minutes to go up 3-1 midway through the half.
AU took back the lead following a 4-1 run to end the half up 5-4. Two goals by senior Caithlin Gorman, as well as Aksionoff's second goal of the half, gave the Eagles the advantage heading into halftime.
The two teams continued their even play in the second half as well, trading goals early in the period.
Following another goal by Lehigh's Carmola to tie the game up at five, junior Brittany Finnegan scored her only goal of the game to put the Eagles back ahead 6-5 with 20:48 remaining in the game.
Lehigh went ahead for most of the half following a quick three-goal outburst starting at the 20:32 mark to put the team up 9-7 with ten minutes to play in the game.
The two teams played to a long scoreless drought over the final minutes of the game, with neither squad able to crack the other's defense. With the Lehigh win seemingly in the bag, the Eagles broke the lack of scoring in dramatic fashion, scoring twice in the final minute to force overtime.
Playing to a stalemate in the three-minute first overtime stanza, the Eagles and the Mountain Hawks headed to a second period of extra-time tied at nine goals apiece.
Lehigh was finally able to put the game away with 1:10 remaining in the second period of overtime on a goal by Meghan Trantor, her second of the match, to give Lehigh a 10-9 victory.
Lehigh's Inneke Carmola and AU's Jackie Lane led all scorers with three goals apiece. Meghan Trantor had a multi-goal effort for the Mountain Hawks while Lauren Aksionoff and Caithlin Gorman scored twice for the Eagles.
On the defensive end, Lehigh goalkeeper Kelsy Ferris made 16 saves on 32 shots in the victory. AU goalkeeper junior Kristine Vida made 10 saves on 23 shots in the losing effort.
The Eagles have one final game remaining in the regular season against Drexel on Tuesday before having a rematch at Lehigh in the Patriot League semifinals on Friday. The winner of that game will face either No. 1 seed Holy Cross or No. 4 seed Colgate in the Patriot League Championship game on Sunday.
