XML Box Score Grantham, PA – Carli Bafford scored a near-impossible game winner with just 2.4 seconds to play and seal the Commonwealth Championship for Stevenson University. The goal broke a 12-12 tie and dealt a crushing blow to the Falcons' championship hopes.
The final minutes were must-see lacrosse and included a game-tying goal by
Lizzy Keeney with just 1:02 on the clock. But the Mustangs controlled the ensuing draw controlled and held possession to the final seconds. Attacking on the right side it appeared as though Stevenson would be unable to attempt a shot but Bafford quickly fired from the smallest of angles to slip a score past
Sarah Dolan.
The tally set off a celebration from the Mustangs as Messiah stood in shock. After a timeout by Stevenson the final draw control played to the horn.
Kathryn Merrick was named the Most Outstanding Player after tallying four goals and an assist—all in the second period as Stevenson fought back from a 7-6 halftime deficit. She also scored the first and last goals of a four-goal streak that put the visitors from down 11-8 to up 12-11.
After Stevenson took that 12-11 advantage—their first lead of the game—the teams played scoreless for almost 11 minutes. Over that stretch both
Molly Devilbiss and
Emily Mumford caused turnovers to give possession back to Messiah, but the Falcons gave it back each time.
With just over five minutes to play Tori Wagner had a big chance to extend the Mustangs' lead but her free-position shot sailed high. A few minutes later Stevenson still held possession with the one goal lead but Sandy Marston turned it over and
Becky Ely picked up the groundball for the Falcons.
Messiah took that possession with just 1:37 remaining and Keeney went one-on-one from the left side and scored the tying goal. But, as mentioned, Stevenson took the next draw control and rode Bafford's tremendous shot to the win.
The loss for Messiah came just 11 days after they defeated Stevenson 14-8 on the same field. Still, the game was played as expected as both Messiah, Stevenson, and Lebanon Valley (whom Stevenson defeated on Thursday) were all 6-1 in the conference.
From the start, it was apparent the game would go the wire. Messiah's lead was never more than three goals and the play was end-to-end for both teams. Keeney scored four of her five goals before the intermission to help Messiah to a 7-6 lead.
In the second period
Claire Stikeleather scored twice on one-on-one moves, one from each side of the field. The second put the Falcons up 9-7 and
Marybeth Bindel followed with two more goals to bookend a tally by Merrick to put the Falcons up 11-8.
From there the Mustangs rolled off four-straight goals to take their aforementioned first lead.
Messiah turned the ball over seven times in each half while Stevenson finished with 15 giveaways. The Falcons led narrowly in shots (28-24), shots on goals (19-17), and draw controls (15-11), though Stevenson picked a few more groundballs (12-15). The duo of Leanne Bittner and Maggie Lawder also combined for seven saves, three more than Dolan who took the loss.
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Keeney finished with five goals and an assist and Bindel scored three goals. The Mustangs did a great defensive job on
Madi Brunk as they held the Falcons' second-leading scorer without a point for only the second time this season.
Stevenson moved to 13-5 with the win. Messiah dropped to 11-7 and will now await the NCAA seeding to see if they will play further in the postseason.
