Blue Jays Beat Buzzer In OT Thriller Tuesday

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Behind a buzzer-beating overtime goal from sophomore midfielder Ana Nogueira (Trumbull, Conn.), the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) women's lacrosse team pulled off a frantic finish on the USJ Lacrosse Field Tuesday night, outlasting the AMCATS of Anna Maria College (ANM), 11-10, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) home contest.

This one kept fans on the edge of their seats with both teams taking leads late in the game, before eventually heading to overtime with the contest on the line. Nogueira had two goals and two assists totaling four points on the evening, the final point which ended it for the hosts. Senior midfielder Jenna Banta (Montville, Conn.) had some huge goals throughout the contest and led the way with four overall. Junior attack Makenzie Dinger (Hingham, Mass.) added three to make it 55 goals on the season. A pair of AMCATS combined to score six of their 10 goals; senior midfielder Ashley Rufo (Pittsfield, Mass.) and junior midfielder Alice Yokabaskas (Farmingdale, Maine).

The game was set to be a high-scoring one as 11 of the game's 21 goals were scored in the first period. USJ scored three of the first four to get out in front (two from Banta), but USJ never led by more than two. 6-5 after one. Scoring came to a halt with four combined goals in the second and third quarters. Anna Maria had kept it close and made its move by scoring the third period's only goal to go ahead 8-7.

USJ found itself down 10-9 with under a minute to go, but stayed aggressive and eventually Dinger found the back of the net on a free position attempt. In overtime, neither team could get the edge until Dinger had another free position attempt. This one bounced off the post and back to a teammate, which was critical as it allowed for one last attempt. USJ killed some clock, and Nogueira, after a few quick moves, fired a shot from the right side that found the back of the cage just as the buzzer sounded, sending the USJ Lacrosse Field into a frenzy.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: Anna Maria 10, Saint Joseph 11 (OT)
Records: ANM 2-9 (0-8 GNAC), USJ 5-7 (3-5 GNAC)
Location: USJ Lacrosse Field | West Hartford, Conn.

PLAYER QUOTE [Ana Nogueira] "At the end of the day, it is not me. It is we over me. That is a saying that coach always tells us. This team matters a lot to me, and I knew we just had to pull through and let that adrenaline run. I didn't even know there were five seconds on the clock. I just saw an opportunity and took it, and it ended up being the winning goal."

COACH QUOTE [Karen Nell] "We are excited. We've never been in that situation before, so to have our team stay strong, and get the possession that we needed to make it happen in a tough spot was huge for us. We have had some tough losses lately, and everyone contributed to this win. To be able to pull it out was really exciting."

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

ANM – Junior Ashley Sheehan (Medford, Mass.) dropped to 1-1 on the season with the setback. She allowed 11 goals in a complete game, making nine key saves.

USJ – Senior goalkeeper and captain Nina Lestrud (Torrington, Conn.) moved to 5-7 on the season with a four-save, 45-minute performance, allowing five goals. Senior stopper Silvana Barcomb (Middletown, Conn.) played the first 15 minutes for USJ.

UP NEXT
Women's Lacrosse will be look to keep the momentum going when the team is home again for a GNAC match, this one against the Blazers of Elms College. The match will be held on Friday night, April 8 at 7:00 p.m. under the lights of the USJ Lacrosse Field.

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