FROSTBURG, Md. – The Frostburg State Women's Lacrosse team used a last-second goal in double overtime to defeat Wilmington at home 11-10.
 
After WU grabbed the opening draw control, sophomore Isabelle Kelly gave FSU their first possession, causing a turnover that put the Bobcats on the clear. After running through some offense, graduate Lilly Stephens shook her defender behind the goal and slotted home easily for a 1-0 lead. The next seven minutes were marred by turnovers and cards shown out to both teams, with only three shots combined between the sides. The Wildcats benefitted from a Frostburg yellow card, scoring a man-up goal before winning the draw control and making it back-to-back for a 2-1 lead.
 
As offense ramped up, junior Julia Badolato scored two goals 45 seconds apart, the first on a solo run and the second on a feed by sophomore Neila Haney, giving FSU the lead back. Another two-minute penalty gave Wilmington their second man-up goal of the quarter in the final minute, but Haney was found by senior Camden DeMaio with four seconds on the clock to hold a narrow 4-3 Bobcat lead after the first 15.
 
Defense was prevalent throughout the first nine minutes of the second period, as junior Nicole Gray made a trio of saves in net, each of which was matched by Katie Vindigni for WU. Three goals in the next minute and a half broke the scoring open, with freshman Gianna Leonardi being found by graduate Maura O'Neill for her first collegiate goal, but the Wildcats answered right back with back-to-back tallies to tie things at 5-5. With time winding down, both sides traded a pair of turnovers, with Wilmington making it three unanswered on a score with 90 seconds on the clock to go up 6-5 at the half.
 
Each netminder knotted a save coming out of the halftime break, as it was WU to maintain their momentum from the second quarter to score twice more in the first six minutes, pushing to the game's highest lead at 8-5 and forcing a Frostburg timeout. A switch at goalkeeper put senior Whitney Crosby in the cage, while the Bobcats won the draw control and eventually got within two as O'Neill found cutting junior Kerri Hayes for her first tally of the game. Haney and DeMaio each caused turnovers, while a Crosby save kept FSU within touching distance, then a flurry of offense in the final two and a half minutes flipped the game on its head. Hayes began things with a man-up free position goal, then sophomore Daniella Boss took the resulting draw control that led to Hayes scoring another, then junior Brittyn Leonard had a pass high into the arc grabbed by Badolato, finishing past Vindigni for a sudden 9-8 Bobcat advantage at the end of the period.
 
Wilmington wasted no time restoring their momentum, getting back-to-back scores within the first minute and a half of the fourth, regaining the lead 10-9. Both netminders produced saves, then after the first five minutes, Frostburg peppered Vindigni's goal with five shots in a minute, but couldn't find the back of the net. Freshman Maya Mosslih caused a huge turnover with six minutes on the clock, which made its way down the field from DeMaio to Badolato right in front of goal, tying the game at 10-10. In search of a go-ahead goal, Hayes and DeMaio were both stopped by Vindigni, while Crosby also kept the game tied before three Bobcats tried to score in the final 30 seconds, but none could break through, taking things to overtime.
 
The first period of extra time belonged to the visitors, controlling possession but only firing off target twice and seeing another blocked, with Frostburg then finally getting a couple attempts away, but Vindigni was there to shut the door twice. In the final 10 seconds, Crosby came up trumps to keep the contest going, making another save to force double OT. Neither side managed a shot on goal in the first three minutes, then Crosby and Vindigni traded saves in a nervy ending. As WU tried to clear with time winding down, DeMaio intercepted a pass, tossed the ball to O'Neill, who fired a pass into Haney, finally beating Vindigni with 0.5 seconds on the clock for the winning goal at 11-10.
 
Badolato (4), Hayes (3), and Haney (2) all recorded multi-goal games, while O'Neill and DeMaio combined for five assists in leading the offense. O'Neill and Haney also led the defensive effort from the front lines, combining for nine between the two, while Kelly and Mosslih each had three. Crosby allowed just two goals while making five saves to earn her first win of the season.
 
With the victory, Frostburg improves to 4-2, while Wilmington falls to 5-2. The Bobcats remain at home to host Lock Haven on Friday, March 15 at 2 p.m. for the team's annual Morgan's Message Game. Information and updates will be posted to frostburgsports.com.