Box Score LYNCHBURG, Va. – After staring down a 2-0 deficit in the second half, Bridgewater College ripped off three straight goals to put the eight-time defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champion Lynchburg Hornets on their heels. But, Lynchburg tied the game up with a late goal to force overtime before scoring on a penalty shot to hand the Eagles a tough 4-3 loss.
The loss snapped Bridgewater's three-game winning streak.
Lynchburg (6-6, 3-0 ODAC) ran out to an early lead over the Eagles with a single goal in the first half of a game that started slowly. At the 27:52 mark of the first half, Elaine Ritschard took a pass from Kayla Krause and found the back of the net for a 1-0 Hornets lead at the half.
The Hornets added a goal 10 minutes into the second frame to jump out to a 2-0 advantage. Kelsey Link fired a shot into the cage off of a Krause pass to build a two-goal cushion for Lynchburg.
Bridgewater (6-6, 2-1 ODAC) responded to Lynchburg's second goal with a three-goal barrage that put the defending champions on their heels. Just 42 ticks after the Lynchburg goal, junior Taylor Prillaman had her first shot turned away before she scooped up her rebound and scored an unassisted goal to trim the gap in half at a 2-1 tally.
The Eagles kept the pressure on at the offensive end before they netted the tying goal early in the 52nd minute. After earning a corner, junior Rachael Loy pushed her insert pass to Caroline Augsburger and the senior found the back of the cage to tie the game up at a 2-2 deadlock. The goal was Augsburger's seventh of the year, placing her in a tie for the team lead with Prillaman.
Following the Augsburger goal, the Eagles wasted little time in silencing the home crowd. Freshman Elizabeth Washington's attempt at the go-ahead goal was blocked but Augsburger later dished off a pass to Caroline Fletcher and Fletcher found the back of the cage to put Bridgewater up by a 3-2 score.
Bridgewater had numerous opportunities to add an insurance tally after the Fletcher goal, but the Hornets defense was up to the task. Lynchburg added a late second-half goal when Courtney Gillette scored to send the game to an extra session.
In the early part of the overtime frame, the Eagles had chances to put the Hornets away. Washington ripped a shot at the cage and Lynchburg netminder Beka Hess was out of position but this time it was Gillette saving the day at the defensive end with a defensive save to keep the game tied, 3-3.
Lynchburg immediately went on the attack after the defensive save and fired a barrage of shots at the Bridgewater goal. Kaitlyn Harris pushed a shot off of the line with a defensive save and Amanda Harper was up to the task, turning away five Lynchburg shots in the overtime set.
Following Harper's last save, the Hornets were awarded a penalty stroke and Gillette beat Harper with a hard shot to the near post to hand Lynchburg a 4-3 victory.
Augsburger led the Eagles with eight shots, while Prillaman added seven as both players tallied goals in the loss.
Harper made a career-high 10 saves on the evening.
Lynchburg was led by the efforts of Gillette. The defender scored two goals on four shots to lead the Hornets offense.
Hess turned away nine Bridgewater scoring attempts in the win.
Both teams had 25 shots on the evening while Bridgewater owned a 12-11 edge in corners.
Bridgewater returns to action on Wednesday at Christopher Newport. Start time against the Captains is set for 7 p.m.
