Box Score
WENHAM, Mass.—Senior Anna Blomberg (Simsbury, Conn.) broke an 8-8 draw with 3:30 remaining in the second half, sending Gordon Women's Lacrosse to an impressive one-goal victory over visiting Roger Williams. The Scots trailed by as many as two goals in the game, but fought back in the second half to earn their fourth straight win.
Roger Williams possessed the opening draw control and immediately put Gordon on their heels with a well-designed attack. However, the Scots countered with senior goalkeeper Danielle Maguire (Braintree, Mass.), who put on a show in net from the opening whistle.
After a flurry of turnovers committed by both teams, Bailey Grinnell (South Hamilton, Mass.) took possession of a ball at the top of the Scots' offensive zone and dove into the Hawks' defense. Grinnell used her speed to get around her defender and sailed home across her body for a 1-0 Gordon lead. Less than two minutes later the Hawks answered on the other end, with Samantha Davenport finding the equalizer on a pass from Kelsy Rahilly.
Gordon took the one-goal advantage once again in the seventh minute, when Stephanie Fitzgerald (Groveland, Mass.) went down the field uncontested following a won draw control. Fitzgerald shook off her marker and put the ball over Roger Williams' goalkeeper for Gordon's second score of the game.
The Hawks did not panic and Davenport struck again just a minute following Fitzgerald's score. The junior curled around the Scots' net and bounced one past Maguire to knot the game at two goals a side. Gordon kept the trend going with the go-ahead goal a minute later, when Rebecca Smith (Verona, N.J.) netted her third of the year.
Ten minutes passed before either team would strike again, but Roger Williams found a groove just inside the 13-minute mark in the period. Rahilly and McKenna Everding scored goals within 20 seconds of each other to give the Hawks their first lead of the game. Mackenzie Logan pushed RWU's lead to two goals with an unassisted tally with under five minutes to play in the half.
Gordon got one last possession inside the final minute of the first and converted with style. Jane Dietrich (West Hartford, Conn.) drove toward the crease and flicked the ball onto Jessica Castelline (Concord, Mass.) for the score.
Roger Williams led the Fighting Scots 5-4 at halftime.
Fitzgerald led off the second stanza with a goal off a feed from Castelline with only three minutes coming off the clock. Gordon's leading scorer, Blomberg, sent home her first goal of the game only 60 seconds later to regain the lead for the first time in nearly 20 minutes of play.
A seesaw battle ensued over the final 25 minutes of the game. Every time the Scots put a goal on the scoreboard, the Hawks would be there to answer the call. With less than four minutes remaining the game, Blomberg broke loose inside the heart of Roger Williams' defensive core and squeezed a ball between Kimberly Bolk and the goalpost.
Gordon played a possession game over the final few minutes and ran out the clock to preserve their sixth win of the year. Roger Williams fell to 2-6 on the year and 0-2 in Commonwealth Coast Conference play.
The Hawks got two goals each from Davenport, Everding and Jessica Searl. Logan had success with six draw control wins. Bolk made six saves in the loss for the Hawks and falls to 1-6 on the year in net.
Blomberg scored all three of her goals in the second half to increase her season total to 25. Castelline and Fitzgerald both tallied two, while the latter had a team-high seven wins on draw controls. The player of the game could have been Maguire, who made several big saves, finishing with a season-high 16 saves.
Gordon returns to non-conference action when they host Worcester State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
