Westminster, Md.- Four goals in the fourth period proved enough to maintain the Juniata women's lacrosse team's lead in a tightly contested 12-10 victory over McDaniel College on Wednesday evening.
Grace Gibbs and Peyton Goodrich each ended the day with four goals, and Goodrich now stands one goal shy of achieving 100 career goals following her 100th career point against Washing & Jefferson two weeks ago. Kyndall Yeager ended the day with the most goal contributions, totaling two goals and a single-game career-high four assists.
Maeve Kuser collected a team-high eight ground balls, tying her for the second-most ground balls in a single game in program history. In possession duels and defense, Gibbs also provided a team-high five caused turnovers with three draw controls and two ground balls, while goaltender Chloe Gerhard made nine saves on the day.
McDaniel started the game unable able to convert on two free position shots in the first two minutes before Gibbs opened scoring in the contest three minutes in by dodging a pair of defenders and firing from the edge of the crease. McDaniel returned the favor two minutes later with a pass from behind the net to a player making a run in front of the goal. Gibbs earned her second a few moments later as Yeager found Gibbs breaking for the goaltender's right side in front of the goal.
Gibbs completed a first-period hattrick with two minutes remaining in a similar fashion to her first goal. The first period saw similar shooting rates, with McDaniel outshooting Juniata 7-6 but down 3-1.
Juniata maintained the gap in the second period as each side scored a pair of goals. The Eagles generated two early shots before Kelliann Drummond made the most of a fifth-minute free position shot to go ahead 4-1. Goodrich scored her first of the day just a minute later as Yeager drew Goodrich's marker and passed to Goodrich, who had an open shot from ten yards out. A pair of McDaniel free position shots in the final two minutes put them within reach going into the halftime break, down 5-3 with half an hour to play.
McDaniel showed resilience with their third-period performance, outshooting Juniata by just a goal but sinking five of their eight shots and outscoring Juniata 5-3 to send the game into the fourth period at 8-8. McDaniel again made use of free position opportunities to get their first two back for a 5-5 scoreline with 7:32 remaining. They claimed the lead for the first time a minute later.
Yeager struck back within 45 seconds with a free position shot before McDaniel retook the lead at 7-6 with another goal. Yeager again benefitted from being fouled for her second free position goal of the day with two minutes to go. Goodrich gave Juniata the lead with a minute to go with a dodge of her defender and a close-range shot. McDaniel put another in with 37 seconds remaining to head into the period break level.
A quiet opening five minutes in terms of scoring chances saw Shannon Para reclaim the lead for Juniata, collecting a loose ball in front of the goal and swiftly firing past a defender and the goaltender. Goodrich followed with a completion of a hattrick two minutes later, then Gibbs scored her fourth goal with six minutes remaining on another Yeager assist for an 11-8 lead. McDaniel again tried claiming a stake with yet another free position goal and a woman-up goal to get back within one with four minutes to play.
Goodrich tacked on an insurance goal with two minutes to go, thanks to a Yeager pass from behind the goal to the edge of the crease. In the final two minutes, McDaniel had a missed shot, a blocked shot, and a saved free position shot as Juniata secured a 12-10 victory.
McDaniel outshot Juniata 30-23 on the day, but Juniata was far more accurate, converting 52.2% of shots to the Green Terror's 33.3%. Juniata collected 21 ground balls to McDaniel's 12 but only collected eight of 26 draw controls.
The Eagles begin Landmark Conference play when they face Scranton at Gibbel Stadium at 1 pm on Saturday. Juniata finished three goals down in a 13-10 defeat last year and will seek their first victory in the matchup.
