SCRANTON, Pa.- The Juniata women's lacrosse team couldn't quite complete the comeback as they lost at Scranton, 13-10, Saturday afternoon.
Grace Gibbs (Arnold, Md. / Broadneck) returned to the lineup and tallied five goals, a ground ball, three draw controls, and a caused turnover, while Peyton Goodrich (Reading, Pa. / Berks Catholic) amassed two goals, an assist, two groundballs, and five draw controls. Shannon Para (Alexandria, Va. / West Potomac)found the back of the net twice, while Talia Bertrando (Lititz, Pa. / Warwick) contributed a goal, an assist, and a ground ball. Kelliann Drummond (Lancaster, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg) chipped in with an assist, while Maeve Kuser (Upperco, Md. / Hereford) added three caused turnovers two ground balls. Chloe Gerhard (Macungie, Pa. / Emmaus) made 13 saves in net for JC.
The Royals scored twice in the first three minutes of play before Bertrando found the back of the net for the Eagles. Scranton added two more goals before Goodrich scored in the final minute and thirty-one seconds as JC trailed by two after one.
The Royals scored seven in the second quarter, including the final four goals of the half, as they led 11-4 at the break. Para and Gibbs scored for the Eagles in the second.
The third quarter was the lowest-scoring one of the game as the Royals scored the first two goals before Para scored off a Drummond pass with a little over a minute to play in the third as the Eagles trailed by eight.
Gibbs scored twice, with the second off a Goodrich assist to bring the Eagles within six, but it took them another six minutes until Goodrich scored on a free position shot to make it 13-7. Gibbs scored two more goals, with the last one coming with a minute and 42 seconds to go in the game, but the Royals closed the door on a comeback.
Juniata finishes the regular season at 11-6 (3-4) and in fifth place in the Landmark Conference, which is their best season in program history in terms of total wins, conference wins, and finish in the conference standings.