Raven Comeback Falls Short to Crusaders

After attempting a late comeback on Tuesday, the Anderson University women's lacrosse team fell short to the Madonna University Crusaders 13-11. The non-conference match-up saw the Crusaders (2-0) put up a big second quarter to take a lead over the Ravens (2-2). After an even battle in the third quarter, Anderson gave it their all to come within reach of the Crusaders, but time was not on the Ravens side as they were unable to complete their comeback.

Anderson put the first point up on the board when Avery Jarosinski found the back of the net with 14 minutes, 15 seconds on the clock, just 45 seconds after the opening draw control. Madonna quickly responded with a goal of their own at 13:48 to make it a 1-1 game. The Crusaders then spent the next few minutes adding on two more goals to take a lead over the Ravens. At 11:35, Lilly McKee recorded the Crusaders second goal while Arianna Rivera put in the third goal at 7:43 left in the quarter. Anderson continued to fight hard and clawed their way back to tie the game before the end of the quarter. Riley Tull made it a one-score game with her first goal of the contest at 3:36. Then, Mallory Housman made the tying goal with 1:36 left on the clock before the end of the quarter to make it a 3-3 game.

Second quarter action saw Madonna take the lead and extend it over Anderson. The Crusaders Brittney Leist put up the team's and her first goal of the quarter at 11:50 to take the lead. Anderson made it a 4-4 game when Emma Sego scored off a Housman assist with 8:38 remaining until halftime. Just 15 seconds later, the Crusaders began their scoring streak when Leist picked up her second goal of the game. Then, after 19 seconds, Madonna added on another goal by Christy Battersby to take a 6-4 lead over Anderson. The scoring was over yet for the Crusaders as at 5:24 Arianna Rivera tacked on another goal. One more Leist goal closed out the half between the Ravens and Crusaders as Madonna held an 8-4 lead at halftime.

Coming out of halftime, the scoring streak continued for the Crusaders when Battersby scored an unassisted goal just under a minute after the draw control. Anderson then broke the scoring streak at 5:49 with an unassisted goal by Tull. The Ravens added on one more when Sego made her second goal of the game with 3:22 remaining in the third quarter. The Crusaders' Leist put up the final goal of the quarter less than a minute later.

Heading into the fourth and final quarter, Anderson trailed Madonna 10-6. Between 13:17 and 11:35 it was a back-and-forth battle as the Ravens fought to close in on the Crusaders and Madonna fought to hold their lead over Anderson. Samantha Huber put up the first goal at 13:17 to bring Anderson within three. Rivera gave Madonna more comfort with a goal at 12:47 before Anderson once again made it a three-goal game from a Gretta Mesarosh unassisted goal at 11:35 to make it a 11-8 game. The Crusaders then put up back-to-back goals from Leist and Makennah Blackman to take a 13-8 lead. Then, in the final four minutes of action, Tull put the game on her back as she led charge in the Ravens comeback attempt. Tull put up three goals in a matter of 1 minute and 30 seconds. The first came at 3:31 off a Housman assist. Two unassisted goals followed at 2:48 and 2:00 to bring the Ravens within two. The Ravens continued to fight until the final horn, but were unable to put any more shots on frame as they fell to the Crusaders by a final score of 13-11.

Anderson ended the day with 36 shots, 23 of which were on goal while Madonna was held to 25 shots with 20 on goal. The Ravens picked up 18 ground balls compared to the Crusaders 15. In turnovers, Anderson was able to force Madonna into 25 while only giving up 17. Tull played an important role in the contest, securing five of the Ravens goals off of 12 shots and picked up five ground balls. Sego added on two goals while Jarosinski, Mesarosh, Huber, and Housman all produced one goal. Madison Leonard made seven saves on 20 shots for the night and collected four ground balls.

Head coach Russell Mackey had the following to say after the match: "We had a 'don't give up' attitude [Tuesday]. We fought to the very end and came up just a little short. Riley Tull fought aggressively and scored some key goals down the stretch that helped us close the gap." He continued to say, "despite facing an opponent that was quite simply quicker and faster than us, we played smart for most of the game and our defense performed well. Hannah Planck and Madison Leonard were very effective in the transition. Overall, we need to work on free-position finishing. We simply did not perform well in the department."

Anderson now looks to turn their focus to Wednesday, March 16 when they head to Naples, Fla to take on Webber International University (4-4) at 3PM. The contest is set to take place a Paradise Coast Sports Complex.