SELINSGROVE, PA (April 12, 2023) – The Susquehanna women's lacrosse team stared down a comeback threat from Juniata entering the fourth quarter Wednesday by notching six unanswered goals in the final period for an electrifying 15-8 win. The River Hawks not only pick up another satisfying win in the rivalry game with Juniata, but even their Landmark record to 2-2 and improve to 8-6 overall with three Landmark games to go.
The game appeared to be a runaway at first for the River Hawks, who scored five unanswered goals in the opening period thanks to scores from
Kelsey Homberg,
Nikki Genovese,
Heather Riefenhauser,
Hannah McNamara, and
Liv Owen. The Eagles began to mount a comeback rally with four goals in the second quarter to SU's two, with
Caitlin Harvey and
Abby Andrus accounting for the River Hawks' second-quarter scores to enter halftime up 7-4. Juniata waged a similar battle in the third quarter with four score to Susquehanna's two, with
Allie Kutler getting on the board and McNamara notching her second of the contest, as the River Hawks watched their lead dwindle to a one-score game entering the fourth at 9-8.
In the fourth quarter, SU's defense stepped up to preserve the lead, led by
Emmy Regan posting 11 saves on the contest and only allowing one free position goal off six Juniata attempts. The offense rewarded this with a six-goal explosion to put the game away, with three from Homberg, two from Harvey, and one from Kutler.
Regan improved to 7-4 on the season and now holds the sixth-best saves per game average in the Landmark with 6.21. Homberg finished with six points on four goals and two assists, with Harvey scoring three goals and Owen counting four points on one goal and three assists. Kutler had two goals and one assist, while McNamara had two goals. Riefenhauser and Genovese each had one goal and one assist, with Andrus scoring the remaining goal.
Susquehanna outshot Juniata 36-30 in shots, including 25-19 in shots on goal, and won 15 draw controls to the Eagles' 12. The River Hawks took advantage of two of their four free positions.
Head coach
Randall Swope's team prepares for their weekend road meeting with Moravian in the River Hawks' push for a Landmark Tournament berth this Saturday at 4:00 P.M.
