HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A three-hour weather delay at Spencer Sports Complex did little in the way of deterring the Lander women's lacrosse team from advancing to the Gulf South Conference Championship Game on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the No. 3 seed Alabama-Huntsville Chargers 12-8 on Friday evening.
In a rematch of last Thursday's 13-12 battle that the Bearcats also won, Lander (13-3) combined its usual stifling defense and balanced offense to make it to a second conference championship game in the last three years.
Mickey Burnett and
Kylie Fragala both produced hat-tricks – Burnett also led the team with five points – and
Izzy Olson had two scores and a game-high seven draw controls versus the Chargers (7-11).
Ella Benson,
Brooke Kelly,
Amelia McCauley and
Sophie Warren also found the back of the net.
Kara Krusbe made nine saves while
Kaia Morey caused three turnovers to go along with three draw controls.
Although UAH got on the scoreboard first 2:38 into the night, the Bearcats were quick to respond with four straight goals to grab a 4-1 lead.
Kelly had the equalizer at the 3:45 mark and Fragala put the Blue and Gold ahead on a free-position shot three minutes later. Olson followed that up midway through the quarter when Burnett set her up with a clean look – and Olson then stretched the lead to three from the free-position area with four minutes left.
Lander tacked on four more goals in the second quarter for an 8-5 halftime lead.
The Bearcats were held to just a single score in the third but maintained a 9-8 margin to set up a compelling fourth quarter showdown.
Neither team scored over the first six minutes until Warren put an end to the drought with the Bearcats' third free-position score. Fragala ran right down the heart of the Charger defense and pushed the lead to 11-8 a minute later, and Burnett added some more insurance with 5:24 to go as she capitalized on a turnover.
The Bearcats will look to capture their first GSC championship at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT Sunday against the No. 1 seed Flagler Saints who won handily over Lee earlier today (19-8).
Tickets for the game must be purchased online. Fans can
alternatively stream the game here.
