Tiffin University women's lacrosse (8-7, 4-4 G-MAC) dropped a heartbreaker 18-17 in a wild back and forth affair at Northwood on Saturday in their regular season finale. The Timberwolves netted the game-winning goal with 27 seconds remaining.
The Dragons got off to a good start as they led 5-3 after one quarter and scored four of the first five goals of the game. Lauren Walsh scored three goals in the quarter and Katelyn Jarvis scored two.
Northwood turned the tables in the second quarter outscoring Tiffin 5-3 to make it an 8-8 game at halftime. Lillian Graham and Walsh scored back-to-back goals to give TU an 8-5 lead with 6:58 left in the first half but the Timberwolves kept the Dragons off the board for the remaining time and rallied for three straight to tie it.
NU took their first lead of the game 45 seconds into the third quarter. Northwood led 11-10 with 12:52 left in the third and that's when the two teams exchanged runs of unanswered goals. Caylin Kunze scored three goals during a string of five straight as Tiffin took the lead back 15-11 with 3:55 left in the third.
Tiffin was unable to keep their momentum as Northwood answered with four in a row to tie it at 15 with 13:03 left in the game. Offensive struggles in the final quarter were costly for TU in this one as Northwood doubled up the scoring 4-2.
Walsh scored an unassisted goal with 3:57 left to tie it at 17 and the Dragons only managed one more shot in the remaining minutes. Meanwhile, the Dragons turned it over twice and the second turnover led to NU's game-winning goal. Northwood won the ensuing draw control to end it.
Walsh and Jarvis had big days offensively, scoring five goals each and Kunze scored four times. Graham, Guinevere Salas, and Kenna Wigginton each scored one goal. Walsh, Kunze, and Jarvis had one assist each. Jessa Zaheri caused three turnovers.
Tiffin had a slight advantage in shots 39-37 and turned it over 15 times compared to 25 by the turnovers but the aforementioned last few turnovers were critical in the outcome of the game. TU was 17 of 26 in clear attempts and won the narrow ground ball battle 28-26. The Dragons won just 16 of the 38 draw controls.
Sarah Hart took the loss in goal, playing all 60 minutes and recorded seven saves.
The Dragons' season will continue with the upcoming G-MAC Tournament. Stay tuned for additional information.
