Lacrosse, Sports

Lacrosse holds off Yale comeback attempt

April25_wlacrosse_sarahfisher_web
SARAH FISHER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
Senior attack Danielle Etrasco netted six goals against Yale, pushing her season total to 54.

Looking to regain momentum heading into the final stretch of the season, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team was able to hold off a late-game surge from Yale University in a close 16-15 finish at Reese Stadium in New Haven, Conn., Wednesday.

 

The Terriers (6-8, 2-4 America East) came out rejuvenated and played with great energy to begin the game. After winning the opening draw, freshman midfielder Louisa Del Rio scored her third goal of the season 40 seconds in, the assist coming from senior attack Danielle Etrasco.

 

This goal marked the first in a three-goal run for the Terriers that gave them a 3-0 lead less than three minutes into the game.

 

“I thought it was a game where we came out pretty fast and made some great offensive sets, that was awesome to see,” said BU coach Liz Robertshaw.

 

Yale (7-7) then put its first point on the board two minutes later with a score from midfielder Erin Magnuson, her 15th of the year.

 

Starting with a goal from junior attack Elizabeth Morse, the Terriers came back quickly with four unanswered goals to open up a 7-1 lead about 10 minutes into the first half.

 

After answering with a free-position goal, the Bulldogs defense was again tested as the Terriers mounted another three-goal run, which included two consecutive free-position goals from Etrasco. This extended the Terriers’ lead to 10-2 with 12 minutes remaining in the first half of play.

 

The two teams traded goals three times to make it a 12-5 game, but then Magnuson found the back of the net once again for Yale to close out the first half with BU on top 12-6.

 

In the first frame the BU attack was aggressive, outshooting Yale 19-10 as well as going a perfect 5-for-5 on free-position shots.

 

The second half was a different game entirely, with each team appearing to play the opposite way it did in the previous half.

 

After neither team scored through the first eight minutes of the second, Etrasco netted two straight goals to push the Terrier lead to 14-6.

 

Following Etrasco’s two scores, the Bulldogs went on a blistering six-goal run that saw Robertshaw make a switch at goalkeeper, bringing in senior Kim Elsworth to replace long-time starter, junior Christina Sheridan in the cage.

 

“I thought, at that moment, that we needed a change and to shake up what we had in cage,” Robertshaw said.  “I thought she played well, she came up with a couple of saves that were solid and she was a calming force in there that let our defense get back into it.”

 

With the score sitting at 14-12 with just under 10 minutes to play, freshman midfielder Sofia Robins found the net for the Terriers to stop the bleeding, and gave BU a three-goal cushion heading into the final stretch.  After five scoreless minutes, Etrasco scored her game-high sixth goal of the game to give the Terriers a 16-12 lead with just over four minutes remaining.

 

Sustaining a final three-goal run from the Bulldogs, the Terriers were able to hold off Yale to preserve the victory.

 

In the second half, Yale outscored the Terriers 9-4, outshooting them 19-10 as well. For BU, however, six different players found the net to put forth a balanced attack that proved to be too much for the Bulldogs down the stretch.

 

“I thought it was huge that other players went in and scored goals and felt confident in their challenging,” Robertshaw said.  “Danielle Etrasco and Kristen Mogavero both went hard today and led us, allowing other people to feel very confident taking challenges.”

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