ST. PAUL, Minn. – The University of Northwestern women's lacrosse team competed in the MWLC Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday evening as the #2 seeded Hamline University Pipers hosted the #3 seeded Eagles. The Eagles battled with everything they had until the final whistle, but ultimately fell 12-10 to the Pipers.
Hamline jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through the first half of the opening quarter. The Eagles fought their way out of the deficit with three consecutive goals.
Emma Snyder (Cottage Grove, Minn./Park) scored back-to-back goals for the Eagles in the first quarter, after which
Samantha Wiebold (Farmington, Minn./Farmington) scored her first of the day to tie the game at 3-3 in the first minute of the second quarter.
The Pipers broke the tie with two more goals, but Snyder scored her third of the day right afterwards to complete her hat trick and bring the Eagles back within one.
The final three minutes of the first half saw Hamline string together three goals in as many minutes to jump ahead 8-4 at the half. Undaunted, the Eagles responded as Wiebold scored back-to-back goals in the opening five minutes of the third quarter to complete her hat trick and cut the Piper lead down to two.
Two more Piper goals followed as Hamline capitalized on two player-up opportunities to retake their four-goal lead.
Talia Gruthusen (Dryer, Ind./Lake Central) brought the Eagles back within three by scoring with 7:22 remaining in the third quarter. The Pipers responded with another goal, but Wiebold answered it with her fourth goal of the game just 27 seconds later.
Trailing 11-8 at the start of the final quarter of regulation, Wiebold would take advantage of a player-up situation to score again for Northwestern and bring the Eagles again within two goals of the Pipers. Hamline managed to retake their three-goal advantage by scoring once more with 7:32 remaining on the clock.
Cara Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) would score with 3:25 left to bring the Eagles once more within two goals of the Pipers, but time would prove to be Northwestern's enemy as Hamline was able to efficiently use their 90-second shot clocks to run out the time on their possessions and hinder UNW's comeback hopes. As the game clock hit zeroes, the Pipers held their 12-10 lead to win and advance to the championship game.
Wiebold led Northwestern with five goals, ending her season with 45 to reach 106 in her career; the third most career goals scored in program history. She scored four in the second half alone as the senior sparked Northwestern's second-half comeback attempt in her last game as an Eagle.
Snyder followed Wiebold in the points column with her hat trick, while Smith and Gruthusen each had a goal as well for UNW.
Abby Scheel (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) recorded the lone assist for Northwestern in the game.
Defensively, the Eagles were led by Smith and her two caused turnovers, four ground balls, and two draw controls.
Brittany Clark (Shell Lake, Wis./) had six saves in goal for UNW.
Northwestern closed out their season in the conference tournament for the second time in as many years. The Eagles will look to build upon their success this season and advance even farther in 2023. To stay up to date with all things UNW Women's Lacrosse, follow the Eagles at @unwwlax on Instagram and right here at unweagles.com.
