SELINSGROVE, PA (April 20, 2024) - The Susquehanna University women's lacrosse team defeated the University of Scranton 9-8 in overtime Saturday to hand the Royals their first Landmark Conference loss of the season, while bolstering their standing in the Landmark Tournament picture.
Scranton came out swinging to start the game and Susquehanna goalie Aerin O'Brien weathered the storm. The River Hawks were outshot 12-3 in the period and O'Brien made five saves and allowed just two goals. The only Susquehanna goal in the period came from Kelsey Homberg on a free-position shot to make it 2-1 going into the second.
The Royals made it 3-1 early in the second, but Susquehanna responded with three straight goals from Homberg, Liv Owen, and Heather Riefenhauser to make it 4-3 with 6:45 to go in the half. O'Brien made another six saves in the period, but Scranton managed a goal at the 3:41 mark to make it a 4-4 tie at halftime.
The River Hawks started the second half strong with two goals from Hannah McNamara in the first six minutes of the third to make it 6-4, and this time it was the Royals who responded nicely with three straight goals to give them the lead at the 3:29 mark. Homberg's third goal of the game two minutes later tied the game again, but Scranton took the lead back with a goal on a free-position shot with seven seconds remaining to make it 8-7 going into the fourth.
Susquehanna shut out Scranton the rest of the game after that goal and held them to just two shots in the fourth, which led to two more saves for O'Brien. The River Hawks managed seven shots in the period and tied the game again with 7:55 remaining in regulation on a huge goal from Abby Andrus. Neither side could strike again down the stretch and the game went into overtime.
It took just 47 seconds in overtime for McNamara to score the game-winning goal set up by Owen to give the River Hawks the 9-8 overtime win. McNamara and Homberg each finished with three goals on the day, while Owen tallied a goal and two assists. O'Brien finished with 14 saves to hold Scranton to their lowest goals scored in any game this season.
The upset win moves Susquehanna to 11-5 on the season and 5-3 in the Landmark Conference. The River Hawks play their last game of the regular season on the road against Elizabethtown College Saturday April 27. Currently Susquehanna is in the mix for the third or fourth seeds in the Landmark Conference tournament alongside Moravian, Drew, and Juniata. A third or fourth seed will clinch a home Landmark Conference quarterfinals game, which will be played Tuesday, April 30.
