WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - The Wilkes University women's lacrosse team improved to 8-0 with an 11-9 over the SUNY Poly Wildcats Wednesday afternoon at Schmidt Stadium.
The Colonels wrap up non-conference play with an undefeated record, while the Wildcats drop to 0-5 with the loss.
Early on the Wildcats took control of the game, scoring the first two goals of the contest. Katelynn Traux struck first at 10:58, and then Lily Hargarther found the back of the net at 9:22 to make it 2-0.
However, Taylor Sparks (Monroeville, NJ/Woodstown) quickly cut the deficit in half with a goal just over a minute later, and Madyson Martinez's (Owasso, OK/Owasso) goal tied the game with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Morgan Hettesheimer (Monroe Twp., PA/Tunkhannock Area) put Wilkes on top 30 seconds after that, and Alexis Guttilla (Staten Island, NY/St. Joseph by-the-Sea) made it four-straight goals at 5:08.
SUNY Poly stopped the bleeding with a woman-up goal from Brinley Ronan, but Guttilla scored her second goal of the game with 38 seconds left in the first to make it 5-3 going into the second quarter.
Compared to the first 15 minutes of action, the second featured much less offense. Guttilla completed the hat trick to give Wilkes a three-goal lead at 12:59, and that score held until Traux struck again for the Wildcats with 5:56 left in the half. That made it 6-4 Colonels at halftime.
Fresh out of the break, Karinne Podwika (Duryea, PA/Pittston Area Senior) and Veale both scored to give Wilkes their largest lead of the game (8-4) at 13:55, but SUNY Poly didn't go away quietly.
The Wildcats scored five-straight goals from the eight minute mark of the third quarter to the seven minute mark of the fourth. Madyn LaFleur took over the game by scoring four of those five goals, and the visitors led 9-8 with 7:34 remaining.
Staring down their first loss of the season, the Colonels showed resilience down the stretch to come away with the win. Sparks tied the game 25 seconds later with her second goal of the game. Veale put Wilkes back on top with 4:48 to play thanks to her second goal, and Hettesheimer added an insurance goal thanks to a Martinez assist to reach the final score of 11-9.
Sparks was instrumental once again for the Colonels with two goals, three assists, five ground balls, and eight draw controls to lead the way. Veale had a four-point day with two goals and two assists, and Guttilla's hat trick was enough to push Wilkes over the edge. Davyn Bonvie (Wyoming, PA/Dallas) also earned the win in net with seven saves and nine goals allowed.
Wilkes as a team outshot SUNY Poly (34-20), grabbed more ground balls (27-20), and won more draw controls (16-6). However, they committed a season-high 22 turnovers.
On the other side, LaFleur finished with four goals and one assist for the Wildcats, and Traux followed suit with two goals and one assist.
The Colonels start Landmark Conference play this Saturday, March 21 with a road contest against Juniata. The game will begin at 1 p.m.
