Alliance, OH- Entering play tonight, only four women’s lacrosse teams remained in contention for the Ohio Athletic Conference title—Mount Union, John Carroll, Capital, and Baldwin Wallace. At Kehres Stadium, the Purple Raiders took care of the Yellow Jackets 12-9. This was a game of redemption for UMU as they lost 15-12 in Berea on April 2.
As expected, Mount Union came out with a vengeance. Graduate student Eden Kessler opened the scoring 85 seconds in. Next up, Katie Clark made it 2-0 with 9:49 left in the first quarter. Emily Funk made it 3-0 minutes later while UMU was up a player. Halfway through the first quarter, the Purple Raiders had complete control of the match. Claire Alic put BW on the board with 6:28 on the clock in the first. Ella Nejad capped off the scoring for UMU in the first with a goal of her own. With the score sitting at 4-1, Lily Tope beat the buzzer with a last-second goal, making the score 4-2 after 15 minutes.
Nejad became the first repeat goal scorer of the day as she put Mount Union’s first of four second-quarter goals into the back of the net. Kessler and Clark backed up Ella soon after with strikes of their own. With 12:48 on the clock in the first half, it was all UMU 7-2. From there, Alic would complete her hat trick with two unassisted goals in the following seven minutes. Nejad finished what she started with 1:47 remaining in the first half as she scored the Purple Raiders’ eighth goal of the game. At halftime, UMU comfortably led 8-4.
The second half had a slow start. Both teams had opportunities to advance, but no one was able to get the opening blow. Then, Mariana Melgoza delivered the first blow of the third quarter after a good battle near the crease. Alic continued her solo success by scoring twice, making it 8-7. Then, the equalizer. Taylor Miklos—assisted by Melgoza—tied the game up at 8 with a masterful goal. With 15 minutes left to play, everything was still to play for.
It has been well known this season that Mount Union women’s lacrosse has a strong New York backbone. The likes of Abby Lindkvist, Reese Fuenfstueck, Makenzie Kolstad, and Mae Pawlikowski have led many great plays this season. Tonight, that was no different. 53 seconds into the fourth, Fuenfstueck found the breakthrough. Next, Pawlikowski backed up her assist with a goal of her own. Finally, Funk scored for the second time, assisted by Fuenfstueck. Exactly one minute after that goal, Annette Doren brought the Yellow Jackets back within two. After 10 minutes of back-and-forth defense, the game was all but over. However, Pawlikowski added the cherry on top with a last-second goal. As the final buzzer sounded in Alliance, it was Mount Union victorious 12-9.
While the team celebrated on the field afterwards, this win was a stepping stone to something greater. The next step? An OAC championship victory. Last year, they fell short in Columbus against Capital 22-9. Mount Union is ready to get back to their 2010s dominance, which saw them win six consecutive OAC tournament championships from 2014-2019. The team in their way this time out–John Carroll. The Blue Streaks won their first 14 games before the Purple Raiders had their number 16-10 in Alliance on April 23.
The OAC championship game is Saturday at 1 PM at Kehres Stadium. The game can be streamed on OAC TV with Nathan Smee on the call.
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