Den Boer Shines, as Women’s Lacrosse Drops Heartbreaker at Gwynedd-Mercy

Box Score

GWYNEDD-VALLEY, Pa. - Senior goalie Bridget Den Boer (Sparta, N.J.) made a career-best 23 saves in net to keep the Goucher College women's lacrosse team in it all afternoon, but host Gwynedd-Mercy was able to get past the Gophers, 14-13, on Saturday.

With the loss, Goucher dropped to 0-2 on the young season, while Gwynedd-Mercy improved to 1-1 with the win.

In the opening frame of the contest, Gwynedd-Mercy got out to a 4-1 lead on the Gophers in first few minutes, only to see Goucher come back and tie the match back up at 4-4. Gwynedd-Mercy, however, scored three of the next four goals to take an 8-5 lead on Goucher with 6:12 left in the first half

Goucher, however, scored the final two goals of the first half. First-year Soleil Gagne (Portsmouth, N.H.) tallied the final goal of the half with 3:39 left to make the score 8-7 entering halftime in favor of Gwynedd-Mercy.

After the teams traded goals to start the second half (to make it a 9-8 Gwynedd-Mercy lead), the host Griffins went on a scoring run, scoring five of the next six goals to take a 14-9 lead over Goucher with 15:45 left.

But, the Gophers did not give in.

Over the next 15 minutes, Goucher went on tear to come all the way back, scoring five straight goals. Leading the charge was sophomore Shannon Stull (Westminster, Md.), who scored four consecutive goals to make it a 14-13 game with 3:19 left.

Then, with 50 seconds left, Gagne scored the game-tying goal, knotting the match up at 14-all in the process. Unfortunately, Gwynedd-Mercy came back and scored the eventual game-winner with 37 seconds left, handing the Gophers a heartbreaking loss in the process.

Overall, Stull led the offense for Goucher, scoring five goals, while tallying an assist. Stull has already scored nine goals in the first two games of the year for the Gophers, as she added four in a defeat last week at Neumann.

Elsewhere, Gagne ended the match with four goals (on six shots), while sophomore Alyssa Long (Pennsburg, Pa.) finished with a pair of goals and two assists. First-year Camryn Agostino (South Setauket, N.Y.) also had two goals, and sophomore Gabrielle Umstead (Chadds Ford, Pa.) finished with a goal and three assists.

In net, Den Boer had a career-best day with her 23-save performance, making 11 saves in the first half and 12 more in the second.

The Goucher College women's lacrosse team returns to action on Wednesday, as they take on McDaniel at Beldon Field in their 2018 home opener. Things get underway at 4:30 p.m.

--GOPHERS--