ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern women's lacrosse team hosted the Lake Forest Foresters for a MWLC matchup on Friday night at Reynolds Field. The Eagles fought hard and rallied for five goals in the final six minutes, but ultimately fell short 14-10.
The Foresters struck early, scoring four goals in the opening quarter for a quick lead.
Talia Gruthusen (Dryer, Ind./Lake Central) cut into the LFC lead with just nine seconds remaining in the first frame, scoring an unassisted goal for the Eagles.
Lake Forest score twice more in the second quarter before
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) responded for UNW, scoring her 14
th goal of the season in an unassisted effort. The Foresters answered back with a goal 29 seconds later, but
Ava Whitcomb (Otsego, Minn./Rogers) followed with the first of her three goals on the day. At the half, Northwestern trailed Lake Forest 7-3.
The third quarter saw four Forester goals scored, but UNW made two of their own.
Emma Snyder (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) scored on an unassisted effort early in the quarter, and
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) scored another Eagle goal late in the frame, assisted by Gruthusen.
UNW trailed 11-5 at the start of the final quarter. Lake Forest added to their lead with three consecutive goals, taking a 14-5 lead with 6:09 remaining.
Facing defeat, the Eagles kept on fighting. UNW scored four goals in two minutes and ended the game with five consecutive goals in the final six minutes. Snyder scored her second of the day with 5:35 remaining. Whitcomb followed with back-to-back goals in just 20 seconds to complete a hat trick, with Wiebold assisting on the second. Snyder notched her own hat trick with 3:35 remaining, scoring her third unassisted goal of the day. Wiebold scored the final goal of the match with 45 seconds left on the clock for her team-leading 22
nd goal of the season.
Next up for Northwestern is another home game, this time a non-conference battle against the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. The Eagles will take on the Blugolds at 7:00 P.M. on Wednesday, April 13, at Reynolds Field.
