HUNTINGDON, Pa.- In a dramatic thriller under the lights on Wednesday night, the Juniata women's lacrosse team earned their first win over Susquehanna in program history, scoring a game-winner in the second overtime period to claim a 15-14 victory.
The game was an incredible back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing hands on four different occasions during regulation. The Eagles were propelled by a dominant individual performance from freshman standout Peyton Goodrich (Reading, Pa. / Berks Catholic), who had a career-high in both goals and points, putting six in the net and assisting twice for a total of eight points. She also etched her name into the program record books, tying for second all-time in both single-game goals and single-game points. Goodrich added seven draw controls, three groundballs, and one caused turnover for a remarkable all-around stat line. Her teammates also got in on the record-setting action, with Grace Gibbs (Arnold, Md. / Broadneck) tying the team record for draw controls in a game with 10, while also scoring three goals and adding a groundball pickup. Goalie Chloe Gerhard (Macungie, Pa. / Emmaus) racked up 15 saves in net to earn the win, getting her 100th save of the season and also landing fourth in the program record book for saves in a game. Freshman defender Maeve Kuser (Upperco, Md. / Hereford) joined in as well, tallying five caused turnovers in the game, which ties her for fourth in team history. She also added four groundballs in a strong defensive showing.
The Eagles would grab momentum early in the game, scoring the first three goals of the game in under five minutes. It took nearly five more minutes for Susquehanna to find the net, before they finally responded with two goals to narrow the score to 3-2. The teams traded goals before the Eagles put away two goals in the final minute of the period to take a 6-3 lead. Their lead grew to four in the second period, with Shayla Lapp (Lancaster, Pa. / Lampeter-Strasburg) scoring the second of her two goals with 9:38 remaining in the second period to put Juniata up 8-4. However, the Eagles' offense would then go quiet, with Susquehanna scoring five unanswered goals to take a 9-8 lead into halftime.
The River Hawks scored first in the second half, stretching to a two-point lead, which would be their largest of the game. Juniata would quickly answer with two goals of their own to tie the game at 10 each, courtesy of goals from Goodrich and Gibbs. The goal-trading would continue between the two teams, with Susquehanna scoring once, Juniata scoring twice, Susquehanna scoring twice, and Juniata then scoring again to knot the game at 13-13 with 1:17 remaining. This set the stage for the dramatic end to regulation.
With 37 seconds left on the clock, Goodrich split the defense once again to bury her fifth goal of the game and give the Eagles the lead. Susquehanna would then win the draw and push into the Eagles' zone for one final attack and the clock running down. With just 14 seconds remaining, the River Hawks would put one in the net, but see it dramatically wiped off the board as their coach called a timeout just moments prior to the shot. Undeterred, they returned to the field and tied the game with only eight seconds left, pushing it to overtime.
Entering overtime, the teams pushed back and forth looking for a winner. Juniata had two shots in the first overtime to Susquehanna's one, but neither team found the net. The game appeared bound for more overtime as the seconds wound down in the second overtime. But Goodrich would continue to prove her ability to thrive under the big lights, plowing through the defense one final time and burying her sixth goal to end the game and give the Eagles the win.
The win pushes Juniata to 11-3 overall and 3-2 in the Landmark, crucially positioning them in the heart of the battle for a place in the Landmark playoffs. They'll finish their season with three consecutive away games, beginning with a trip to Catholic on Saturday, before playing non-conference opponent Lycoming on Wednesday the 27th. They'll then conclude with a trip to Scranton on April 30th.
