The women’s lacrosse team came out of the gate strong on Sunday after fighting back from a 6-3 halftime deficit to defeat Carthage College 9-8.
“A win is always a great way to start a season, but beyond the stats, it gave everyone on the team reaffirming confidence to then go on to the rest of our season,” said first-year attack Madi Lozanoski.
With 13:48 remaining in the first half, DePauw had held a 3-2 lead over the Lady Reds. However, Carthage wasn’t willing to go down without a fight.
The Lady Reds managed to turn things around and scored four unanswered goals before heading into the locker room for halftime. The Tigers then trailed 6-3.
Sophomore attackman Emma Flynn wasted no time in rallying her teammates. Within 46 seconds of the second half, Flynn was able to net a goal, giving her team the spark that it needed.
Within a minute of Flynn’s goal, junior midfielder Emilye Denny and sophomore defenseman/midfielder Marisa Ellison both netted goals.
After this second half burst, the match was tied at 6-6.
Flynn then scored her third goal of the game to lift the Tigers to a 7-6 lead with 21:37 remaining in the game.
The rest of the match was a tight back-and-forth battle, with both teams exchanging goals.
Senior attackman Elizabeth McCracken scored the ninth and final goal that sealed the Tigers’ comeback victory.
“The biggest factor in their second half comeback was their want to win,” Head Coach Julie Sargent said. “They went into the half with the intent of winning, and achieved their goal.”
Flynn echoed similar remarks, stating that comeback wins have not been uncommon for this team in the past.
“I think today we just picked our heads up, stayed relaxed and played our game,” she said. “We can come back from anything if we really get to it, and we’ve definitely come back from more than three goals behind.”
Strong performances from the Tigers came from Flynn, who contributed three goals, followed by Denny with two. Lozanoski also led with six draw controls. Defensively, junior goalkeeper Liz Hawkins was able to keep the Tigers in the game with her six saves.
“The girls have been working hard for the past three weeks preparing for season, and they were ready,” Sargent said.
The ladies return to action on Wednesday at Illinois Wesleyan. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.