•  

Women's Lax Ends Season in Familiar, Heartbreaking Fashion

Saturday, April 21, 2012 - page 2
 

In the pregame ceremony at the Muhlenberg women’s lacrosse team’s Senior Day, co-captain Kelsey Elmer was described as the “glue of the offense – appropriate for someone whose last name is Elmer.”

Kelsey Elmer
Elmer scored 35 points in her senior season after totaling 23 in her first three years.
As if they were fastened with glue, the Mules have stuck together and kept fighting through a frustrating season that saw them lose four of five games by one goal.

Unfortunately, Muhlenberg could not unglue itself from that result. On Senior Day, the Mules played another spirited game, rallying from a six-goal second-half deficit to tie the score, only to lose to playoff-bound Ursinus, 16-15, on a goal with 4.2 seconds left.

Angela Napoletano
Napoletano recorded a career-high-tying six draw controls and scored her 92nd career goal in her last game.
Muhlenberg finished the season 5-8 overall and 1-8 in the Centennial Conference, with its last five CC losses all coming by a single goal – three of them to teams that made the playoffs. Prior to this season, the Mules hadn’t lost a one-goal game since 2007, and they had never lost more than two in a year.

It wasn’t for lack of effort. Ursinus (9-7, 5-4) seemed to be running away with the game when it opened up a 12-6 lead 13 minutes into the second half. But Muhlenberg reeled off the next six goals, capped by back-to-back scores by junior Molly Davin, to forge a 12-all tie with 10 minutes left.

The Bears rebounded with the next two goals, and Elmer “stuck” in a free-position shot with 3:09 left to make it 14-13. After another Ursinus goal, freshman Kayleigh Thies brought the Mules back within one at the 1:22 mark.

Freshman Stephanie Umbach controlled the ensuing draw, and with 48.1 seconds left junior Alexandra Gabriele converted a free-position opportunity to tie the game back up at 15-15.

Umbach won the draw again, but Muhlenberg turned the ball over on an errant pass to set the stage for the winning goal.

Elmer, who started the game along with fellow seniors Maggie Hare, Sarah Hetrick, Angela Napoletano, Becky Ritter and Jessica Shegoski, netted five goals in her final game, topping the career high of four she set in her second-to-last game on Wednesday. Davin and Umbach added three goals apiece, with Umbach adding eight draw controls to run her season total to 64 – the second-highest in program history.
Click here for box score.
Click here for complete stats.