AKRON, Ohio – The Highlanders lost to Akron 8-7 despite a strong defensive effort that kept things tied through four overtime periods on Tuesday afternoon on the road.
It was a quiet first quarter as the only goal came from
Molly O'Brien with an assist from
Ashlyn Grogan. The defense held off Akron with two saves from
Olivia Hunter while
Emily Strother shined causing two back-to-back turnovers and scooping up a ground ball.
The second quarter was a back-and-forth fight for the lead. Akron was first to score but
McKenzie Hines was quick to retaliate. After six minutes scoreless, the Zips broke that to tie up the game at 2 apiece. Grogan went unassisted as she shot to take the lead.
Looking to break the tie in the second half,
Linley Tirrell ran the ball in to put the Highlanders up 4-3.
Mady Cheney won the drawn control and allowed the Highlanders to set up an immediate play.
Kaitlyn Lytton fed the ball to
Maddie Abbott putting Radford up by two goals. From there, the Zips were able to catch up to tie the game once again. However, Grogan was not ready to let go of the lead, taking advantage of the free position shot to give Radford back the lead.
Once again beginning the quarter in a tie, the Highlanders were looking to take control of the game one final time. Tirrell took a shot to meet the back of the net putting the score 7-6. Akron quickly retaliated and set the game at a tie for the seventh time sending the game into overtime. However, turnovers negated any scoring opportunities on both sides leading to a second overtime. Hunter was a brick wall with two saves during the second OT to keep Radford alive resulting in a third overtime. During the fourth overtime, Akron scored in the closing seconds to finalize the game at 8-7.
KEY STATS
WHAT'S NEXT?
Radford women's lacrosse beings Big South play in their next game against Longwood on the road Wednesday, March 27 at 5:30 pm.
FOLLOW WOMEN'S LACROSSE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on the Radford women's lacrosse team follow @RadfordWLAX on Twitter and Instagram or Radford Women's Lacrosse on Facebook.
