Bobcats win season finale in 12-11, last second thriller

by Tim Pappa
Staff Writer

Picture a rush of green and white, culminating at the field's center in a chaotic scene of hugging, screaming and celebrating.

Ohio's lacrosse team (8-8) finished at .500 for the first time in the team's history and trotted out of its final game of the season with a last-second 12-11 win against Duquesne.

The Duquesne Dukes (12-4) were left ousted from a win after the game-winning goal by Ohio midfielder Lynz Keys with just 10 seconds left.

Duquesne got on the board first when Jennifer Gustin found the net at the 28:21 mark. Becky Oxman tied the score for Ohio with a goal less than three minutes later, before Alyssa Trocher gave the Bobcats a one-goal advantage with her 50th tally of the season. Ohio held a 5-3 lead with less than five minutes to play before the Dukes scored back-to-back goals to end the first half.

The second half started with the Dukes owning the ball. Ohio did not get its first shot of the second half off until 13:19. By then, Duquesne had already captured four goals, with two coming from midfielder Meghan Hungate.

Ohio coach Anne Moelk eventually called a timeout.

"I told them that they still had plenty of time to come back," Moelk said. "They just needed to go about it at one goal at a time. I told them they had to be patient, and that is exactly what they did."

Goalkeeper Jennifer Cassidy said Moelk stressed that her players work as a team for the remainder of the game.

Ohio's offense turned the ignition key again when Trocher scored at 8:59 of the second half off a dished pass from Oxman. The goal was her third of the game.

Oxman had another assist on the next goal as well, passing to midfielder Ashley Bauer at 8:26, just 33 seconds after Trocher's last mark.

After a Duquesne goal at 6:23, the Bobcats dug out four straight goals. Oxman joined Trocher at 5:42 with a goal, leaving them both with hat tricks and pulling Ohio within one of a tie score.

After a save by Cassidy, the Bobcats surged back down the other way and laid down a goal in the Dukes net, the goal coming from attacker Emily Hemmelgarn. Ohio then took the lead at 2:18 when Bauer connected for her second score. The Dukes were not ready to give up, though. Duquesne midfielder Kristin Harner rushed down the field and scored just 16 seconds later to tie the game at 11 apiece.

With the ball in Ohio's possession, Moelk had the Bobcats control the ball without pressure to run down the clock. Keys rushed in and scored the game winner with 10 seconds left to send the Dukes packing.

"This game means a lot," Moelk said. "It proves where we have come in the last few years. It also shows what we will be like next year and really is a boost for the program. The girls returning now have motivation in the off-season."

Moelk said grabbing a last-second goal for the win made this game undoubtedly the most satisfying victory of the season.

Midfielder Christa Meyer added that the win also meant redemption for the Bobcats.

"This win means so much to us," Meyer said. "It means more than any other game of the season. It's not because we came back in the last few seconds or because we finished the season at .500. It means so much because we have lost to this team for the last three years, and we finally beat them. We can hang with any team. I'm so proud."

Moelk said she was slightly surprised by Ohio's comeback after such a dismal start to the second half.

"It's hard to tell with this team whether we will play the same throughout the game," Moelk said. "We have had games like this before, but it's always hard to tell. I am so impressed by everyone's playing today. Nobody played for themselves today, and that is the most important part of the game."