INDIANA, Pa. – The IUP women's lacrosse team battled back to force overtime against Slippery Rock after trailing throughout the game, falling 12-11 during a hard-fought setback at a rainy Miller Stadium.
IUP slips to 4-4 on the season and 3-1 in league play with its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action. Slippery Rock, receiving votes in the latest IWLCA DII Poll, records another quality divisional win on Saturday.
SRU improves to 6-2 and 2-1 in the league. The Rock opened the game on a 4-0 run and closed the half with three straight goals. Charleigh Rondeau opened and closed the scoring for SRU, racing down the right side before finishing an accurate shot in the overtime session for her 10th goal of the season.
Both sides logged 33 shots on the day, which saw strong stretches of play and some lapses from both teams at times. The Hawks outscored Slippery Rock 6-2 in the second half, including 4-1 in the third quarter to get back within striking distance.
Sarah Reustle uncorked a long shot with just over one minute left to tie the goal at 11, the first tie for the Crimson Hawks the entire game. Reustle was active across the board on Saturday, posting two goals, one assist, five caused turnovers and four ground balls.
Chantal Jimenez and
Kathryn Burke recorded four points each, pacing the IUP offense.
Jimenez had one draw control, coming in the second quarter, pushing her career total to 300. She is just the second player in program history (Katie Martyn) to reach the career milestone.
Rachel Knight posted three caused turnovers and four ground balls defensively.
Maddy Schramm registered 13 saves, including some key second half stops.
SRU scored four straight goals to start the game over the initial seven minutes before IUP battled back within one at the end of the opening quarter. Burke found the back of the net for the first two IUP goals at 8:10 and 6:11.
Alexi Crosby sliced the IUP deficit to 5-4 with her first quarter goal with 1:01 left. SRU finished the half with three unanswered goals, taking a 9-5 lead into the intermission.
IUP flipped the script in the third quarter, outscoring SRU 4-1. The strong quarter whittled the IUP deficit back within 10-9 going into the final quarter of play. Burke carved through for her 17th goal of the season with 36 seconds left in the frame as IUP trailed by one.
IUP tied the game with a pair of goals over the last 4:02 of the fourth quarter. Jimenez netted her 18th of the season and 97th of her career before Reustle leveled the score. In overtime, SRU got the opening possession on a contested draw control, finishing out the game with Rondeau's game-winner.
Up Next
IUP heads to Shippensburg on Wednesday, April 3 at 4:00 p.m.
Follow
For coverage of the IUP women's lacrosse program, follow the Crimson Hawks on X (Twitter) and Instagram @IUPlacrosse and online at IUPathletics.com.
