SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Syracuse junior Michelle Tumolo (Mullica Hill, N.J.) scored her third goal of the night with 51 seconds remaining to tie the game at 9-9, but the No. 9/11 Orange women's lacrosse team (1-2) allowed two goals in overtime in an 11-9 setback to No. 1/1 Northwestern (3-0) on Wednesday, Feb. 29 in the Carrier Dome.
Syracuse rallied from a three-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation to force the extra session. Trailing 6-3 at halftime, Northwestern opened the second half with six unanswered goals to take 9-6 lead with 9:54 on the clock. Shannon Smith had four of her game-high six points on three goals and an assist during the run.
Sophomore Alyssa Murray (West Babylon, N.Y.) started the Orange's comeback with a free position goal at the 4:16 mark, ending SU's scoring drought which spanned more than 30 minutes of play. Freshman Devon Collins (Rochester, N.Y.) followed with another free position goal to bring the Orange within one at 9-8 with 3:40 remaining in regulation. Tumolo capped Syracuse's comeback when she worked the ball behind the back of the net off a restart. She came around the right side and put her shot past Northwestern goalkeeper Brianne LoManto to even the score at 9-9. The Orange had one final chance to win the game in regulation, but LoManto stopped Collins' shot with 14 seconds on the clock to force overtime.
The Wildcats took the lead for good when Erin Fitzgerald found the back of the net 1:03 into the extra session. Smith added another goal as the defending national champions held on for the victory.
"I thought it was a great effort," said Syracuse head coach Gary Gait. "Our team played to the very end. When it came down to it, we made a few too many mistakes. But we will learn from it and move forward. I thought our defense played really well. Our offense hit a couple of dry spells, but we came up and got a little run going and tied the game. We will keep working and keep getting better."
The Orange led by as many as four in the first half. After Northwestern took an early 1-0 lead, sophomore Katie Webster (Syracuse, N.Y.) scored on an assist from Tumolo, sparking Syracuse on a 4-0 scoring run. Webster had three goals during that stretch. The Wildcats cut the lead to 4-2 before Tumolo recorded back-to-back goals to extend the Orange's advantage to 6-2. Smith tallied her only goal of the first half with 1:54 remaining to bring the Wildcats within three, 6-3, at halftime.
Syracuse outshot Northwestern, 26-24, and held a 14-9 advantage in draw controls. The Wildcats picked up 11 ground balls to nine for the Orange. Sophomore Alyssa Costantino (West Islip, N.Y.) made six saves, while freshman Kelsey Richardson (Memphis, N.Y.) had two saves. LoManto finished with nine saves for Northwestern.
The Orange will face its third top 10-ranked opponent in as many games when it takes on No. 4/5 Florida on Saturday, March 3 at 1 p.m. in Gainesville.
**Courtesy SU Athletics**
