Anderson Drops Nail-Biter on Senior Night

The Anderson University women's lacrosse team hosted the Lions of Mount St. Joseph University on Saturday in a Heartland Collegiate Lacrosse Contest (HCLC) matchup at Macholtz Stadium. The Ravens and Lions met earlier in the season, and competed in a much similar style of game on Saturday. In a nail-biter, the Ravens fell to the Lions by a final score of 12-11.

The Ravens (3-3, 0-1) fell early as the Lions (2-2, 1-1) scored three goals, with two back-to-back at 26:57 and 26:24 remaining in the first half, and one soon after with 25:52 on the clock. It wouldn't take long for the Ravens to get on the board, as Elizabeth Graham (Riverside, Ohio/Carroll) recorded the Ravens first goal of the game with 23:15 on the clock. Four minutes would go by before Kaitlyn Lawson (Newburgh, Ind./Castle) beat the Lions goalkeeper for her first goal of the game and made it a 3-2 game.

The Lions would answer with a goal of their own at 15:17, but Mallory Housman (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) would waste no time getting the Ravens back within one, scoring her first goal of the game at 14:36 remaining in the first half. At 10:59 on the clock, Housman recorded her second goal and tied the game up 4-a-piece. The Lions quickly took the lead back at 10:08. Just shy of two minutes later, Graham once again found the back of the net. The Ravens and Lions were tied up 5-to-5 with 8:24 remaining in the first half.

At 6:38, the Ravens took their first lead of the game with a free position goal by Housman, recording herself a hat-trick, and giving the Ravens a 6-5 lead over the Lions. Graham and Lawson each built on the Ravens lead before the end of the half. Graham earned herself a hat-trick of her third goal of the game at 4:24, while Lawson earned her second goal at 3:37.

Heading into halftime, the Ravens led the Lions 8-5.

Coming out of the half, the Lions wasted no time finding the back of the net just :26 seconds into the start of the half to make it an 8-6 game in favor of the Ravens. Graham recorded her fourth goal with 26:14 remaining in the game, making it a 9-6 scoreline. The Lions immediately answered with a goal of their own at 25:33 to bring the teams with two.

15 minutes would go by with neither team able to get past the other goalkeeper. The Lions broke the scoreless streak at 10:38 and 10:26 with back-to-back goals, tying the game up 9-to-9.

Between 9:40 and 8:04, three goals would happen. The Lions stuck first, taking a 10-9 lead at 9:40 left. The Ravens came right back to tie the game up and then immediately take a 11-10 lead with back-to-back goals by Graham, her fifth and sixth of the game, earning a double hat-trick.

The Ravens held onto their lead over the next seven minutes before the Lions were able to fight past the Ravens defense and tie the game up 11-11 with 1:03 left in the game.

A foul on the Ravens with 27 seconds remaining in the game gave the Lions a free position shot in which they were able to capitalize on and slip away with a 12-11 lead. The Ravens gave it their all with the remaining time on the clock, but ultimately fell short in the end.

In total, the Ravens outshot the Lions 25-22, with the Ravens recording 17 shots on goal, while the Lions had 18. Both the Ravens goalkeeper, Madison Leonard (Flower Mound, Texas/Flower Mound), and the Lions goalkeeper made six saves each. The Ravens picked up 17 ground balls to the Lions 14, and 14 draw controls to the Lions 11.

Graham led the Ravens with a total of six goals on nine shots, seven of which were on goal. Housman had three goals and one assist on the night, while Lawson recorded two goals and one assist.

Samantha Huber (St. Louis, Mo./Westminster Christian) caused three turnovers and won five draw controls. Graham also tallied five draw controls. Leonard picked up four ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Before the start of Saturday's game, the Ravens honored their seniors, Kaitlyn Lawson and Emily Albert. In Lawson's career as a Raven so far, she has started in all 17 games that she has played in. In total, Lawson has recorded 25 goals, 13 of which came her freshman year, and five assists. She's recorded 46 draw controls and 33 ground balls. Albert as well has started in every game she's played in, earning 19 starts in her career so far. Albert has played a huge role on the Ravens defense, recording 52 ground balls in her career. Congratulations to the two seniors on all of your success!

The Ravens now have three games remaining. They will be back in action on Wednesday as they hit the road to take on the Grizzlies of Franklin College (0-5, 0-1). The HCLC match is set to start at 6PM.