GAFFNEY, S.C. - The Newberry College Wolves women's lacrosse team (11-7, 5-6 SAC) ended the game by scoring six unanswered goals to complete the comeback and take down Limestone in overtime for their first postseason win in program history.
"I thought today we came out and we executed the game plan," said Head Coach Tommy Kelly. "For the last couple of days we have really been grilling a new offense and some of the different things we wanted to do on defense. I thought for sixty minutes, they stuck to it, and that is why we got the result that we ended up with."
The Saints struck first, but Heather Johnston (Merritt Island, Fla.) was able to take a nice feed from Chloe Wood (Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada) and turn it into a score to tie the game. However, Limestone was able to score a pair of goals to end the quarter with a 3-1 lead.
The Saints would once again strike first in the second period, but this time it would be Robin Hall (Rockledge, Fla.) taking a pass from fellow senior Keegan Hanson (Rockledge, Fla.) for the answer. Limestone would push their lead back out to three, but Cassell Richardson (Forest, Va.) raced down the field to score seconds after a save from Nicole Harker (Naples, Fla.). Johnston would then draw and convert on a free-position opportunity to cut the deficit to one. The Saints got one back, but Johnston completed the hat trick on the ensuing possession to keep the Wolves in it. However, Limestone would score back-to-back goals to take an 8-5 lead into the halftime break.
The Saints came out of the break energized, scoring three of the next four goals as Marissa Plumer (Chester, Md.) was able to break up the run, but the Wolves were staring at a five-goal deficit. However, Wood was able to find the back of the net late in the period, sparking some momentum that carried over into the fourth quarter.
Johnston opened up the fourth quarter by scoring back-to-back goals, and Wood would follow that up with back-to-back goals of her own. Within the span of a few minutes, the game was suddenly tied at 11-11, and the defense was shutting the Saints down. With neither team budging down the stretch, the game would go to overtime with the season on the line.
After winning the draw control and buying enough time to return to full strength due to a penalty late in the fourth quarter, the Wolves called a timeout to draw up a play. Then, in one swing of a stick, Wood added to her legacy at Newberry College as her program-record 197th goal of her career was arguably the biggest of them all, giving the Wolves their first ever postseason win in the history of the program.
Johnston led the way offensively with a five-goal performance, and Wood also had 5 points on 4 goals and 3 assists, including the game-winner. Wood also secured 5 ground balls and caused a pair of turnovers. Plumer was also able to secure 5 ground balls and cause a pair of turnovers of her own. Meanwhile, Richardson led the team with 5 draw controls. Harker picked up the win in goal, improving to 4-2, while making 6 huge saves.Â
"I thought Johnston stepped up huge for us," said Kelly. "She had some nice goals, but more importantly I think it is some of the statistics that do not show up in the stats sheet that were even bigger. I think she picked up three or four would-be turnovers. Collectively on defense, everyone stuck to what we were going to do today, and they communicated. Shout-out to the whole defense and Harker coming up big for us in the end."
The Wolves will now turn their attention to the South Atlantic Conference semifinals where they will face Wingate on Friday, April 29 in Hickory, N.C. with the first draw scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
