No. 13 Women's Lacrosse Uses Comeback to Defeat Lehigh, 15-14

Wednesday, March 29

Bethlehem, PA

6:00 PM

Army West Point

10-0,4-0PL

Lehigh University

6-4, 1-3PL

ARMY

Lehigh

No. 13 Women's Lacrosse Uses Comeback to Defeat Lehigh, 15-14

March 30, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, PA - No. 13 Army West Point women's lacrosse (10-0, 4-0 Patriot League) battled back from a six-goal deficit to take down Lehigh (6-4, 1-3 Patriot League) on the road on Wednesday night. The ten-game winning streak ties a program record set last season, as Army improved on its best-ever start to a season with the victory.

Trailing 7-1 after the first quarter, Army shutout the Mountain Hawks in the second quarter, clawing back to make it a brand new, 7-6 game at the half.Brigid Duffy led the way scoring five times for the Black Knights while Julia Gorajek logged a four-goal effort as the only two to score multiple times.

After Lehigh struck first in the opening minute after winning the first draw, Army quickly responded with a goal from Carleigh Armstrong to make it 1-1 at the 13:03 mark. Army would get shut out for the remainder of the quarter, as the Mountain Hawks' offense continued to convert. Three straight goals made it 4-1 at 9:35, prompting a Black Knights timeout.

Lehigh added another 3-0 spurt in the ensuing 5:31 to jump out to a 7-1 lead in the opening frame. It marked the first time all season that Army trailed by more than two goals and the first time trailing by more than one goal in the final 45 minutes of game.

Army began the comeback trail in the second quarter, starting on the defensive end. Army shut down the Lehigh attack in the second, allowing just two shots and one on goal which Lindsey Serafine saved. Duffy tabbed her first of the game to start the scoring before Allison Reilly made it a 7-3 game less than four minutes into the frame. Lehigh called timeout at the 9:02 mark after a goal from Gorajek halved the deficit to three.

Army eventually went into the half with a 7-6 deficit, with Marissa Massey and Kathleen Sullivan logging the final two tallies of the half. The Black Knights saw themselves right back in the game after outscoring the Mountain Hawks 5-0 in the second quarter.

The second half began as a defensive battle, with neither side tabbing a goal in the opening five minutes. Lehigh struck first to make it a two-goal advantage once again, before Duffy blitzed the Mountain Hawks with two goals in 31 seconds to knot the score at eight, capping a 7-1 Army run after Lehigh began the game up 7-1. Gorajek secured her second of the game with an unassisted tally at the 4:01 mark to give Army its first lead. Lehigh responded with the next two, including a pivotal goal with six seconds remaining to take a 10-9 lead into the final 15 minutes.

Duffy and Gorajek then put the team on their backs to spearhead the fourth quarter effort. They each scored twice to get Army out to a 13-12 lead after the Mountain Hawks went ahead by one with 7:13 to play. Gorajek's fourth of the game had given Army back the lead with 5:25 left to play. After two more draw control wins, Jolie Riedell and Julia Franzoni got on the scoresheet to give Army some breathing room for the first time in the game, as the Black Knights went ahead by three with 3:40 to play.

With time running out for Lehigh, they were able to make it a one-goal game with 72 seconds remaining on the clock, setting up an edge-of-your-seat final minute. The Mountain Hawks won the ensuing draw control, but the Army defense held firm across the final minute, forcing multiple shots off-target. The clock eventually hit triple zeroes, as Army survived to improve to 4-0 in Patriot League play.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Brigid Duffy recorded a six-point game through five goals and an assist.
Duffy's 3.9 goals per game now ranks fifth in the country while the 39 tallies ranks seventh overall in the nation.
Duffy logged a game-high and career-high nine draw controls.
Julia Gorajek came up big with a four-goal performance, marking the third time in four games that she has recorded a hat trick or better.
Kathleen Sullivan added a goal and two assists to reach 46 points this season. Her 23 assists lands 15th in the country,
Lindsey Serafine came off the bench to make three saves and pick up her second career win in the cage for the Black Knights.
Cathleen Parker and Sidney Weigand led the defensive effort with two caused turnovers each.
Army won the draw control 24 out of 33 times, including 16 of 18 in the second half.

Coach's Corner

Hear from @MTumolo35 after tonight's huge comeback win on the road to remain undefeated ???#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/2YLZ1zEn0g
— Army Women's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_WLax) March 30, 2023