WEST POINT, N.Y. - The fifth-ranked Loyola University Maryland women's lacrosse team stormed out to a big first-half lead and then staved off a second-half comeback attempt by Army West Point as the Greyhounds held on for a 14-13 win over the Black Knights Saturday afternoon at Michie Stadium.
With the win, Loyola remains undefeated on the season, at 7-0 overall and 2-0 in Patriot League play.
Junior
Chase Boyle led all players with a career-high seven points, scoring five goals and assisting two others. Senior
Sydni Black also contributed a hat trick, scoring three times, while graduate student
Regan Kielmeyer contributed four points on 2 goals and 2 assists. Graduate student
Anna Ruby and junior
Georgia Latch each had one goal and one assist, while junior
Gabby Stapleton and freshman
Avery Ruhnke added one goal apiece. Graduate student
Catie Corolla rounded out the scoring with a pair of assists.
Black and Boyle led the way on the draw, winning nine and eight, respectively, while junior
Lily Osborne had three ground balls and junior
Ellie Rinehart had two caused turnovers.
For Army (2-7 overall, 0-1 Patriot League), Allison Reilly led the way with five goals and one assist, while Brigid Duffy had three goals and six draw controls.
In goal, junior
Lauren Spence collected five saves for the Greyhounds, while Lindsey Serafine turned back nine shots for Army West Point.
The Hounds came out hot, rattling off five-straight goals within the first four-and-a-half minutes of play to lead the Black Knights 5-0 at the 6:46 mark. Ruhnke started the scoring just 56 seconds into play, putting away a pass from Corolla. Black then scored the next two goals, converting a free-position attempt at 13:32 before scoring again at 8:40, giving Loyola a 3-0 lead.
A free-position goal from Kielmeyer put the Greyhounds ahead, 4-0, before Stapleton finished a pass from Ruby to give Loyola the five-goal advantage.
Back-to-back goals from Reilly pulled Army West Point within three, 5-2, with 24 seconds to play in the first quarter, but a free position goal from Boyle with seven ticks to go closed out the first quarter with the Hounds up, 6-2.
Boyle continued her run into the second quarter as she scored the first three goals out of the short intermission, making it four-straight goals from the junior to push Loyola's lead to seven, 9-2, at the 10:19 mark. Her first goal of the quarter was unassisted with Latch and Keilmeyer assisting the next two, respectively.
Julia Gorajek halted the run with a goal for Army West Point before Kielmeyer fired a long-range laser into the back of the net, assisted by Boyle, to give the Greyhounds a 10-3 advantage with eight-minutes to play in the first half.
A pair of goals from Army West Point brought the score to 10-5 at the half.
Loyola looked to remain in control of the game at the start of the second half, with Black weaving through traffic and scoring the first goal out of the break. The Black Knights wouldn't go away though, as they chipped away at their deficit and eventually scored seven of the next eight goals to knot the score at 12-12 with 3:40 to play in the third quarter. Ruby wouldn't let Army West Point take the lead though, as she scored her only goal of the day at the 1:30 mark to send the Greyhounds into the final quarter with a one-goal lead, 13-12.
Boyle won opening draw and turned it into a goal just 30 seconds into play, as she put a feed from Kielmeyer into the back of the net. That would be the final goal the Greyhounds would get though, as the Black Knights worked to score at the 6:22 mark and pull within one, 14-13. Black won the ensuing draw control but neither team could find a goal after that, as the final score would remain a one-goal differential.
The Greyhounds will be back in action on Wednesday as it hosts Navy in its Eras Tour Night/Headstrong/Lax Out Cancer Game. Opening draw is slated for 6 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex.
