If a regulation women's lacrosse game were 61 minutes the outcome could have been drastically different.
Trailing by seven goals with 3:42 to play, Denison ended the game by scoring five goals in a span of three minutes. Despite the impressive comeback, the Big Red would fall to William Smith, 17-15, in Clearwater, Fla.
In the first half, Denison trailed 5-3 until Claire Ludlow got her squad to within one goal of the lead with 11:28 to play. The Herons would outscore DU 4-1 to close out the half with a 9-5 lead.
In the second half, despite goals from Carol Allen and Leah Isreal, William Smith appeared to put the game out of reach with a string of four goals in 1:17. With 14:03 to play the Big Red found themselves trailing William Smith 14-7.
Allen began DU's uphill battle with a goal after a yellow card on William Smith's Hayley Braun left the Herons shorthanded. Allen would score for the third time with 7:28 to play, and after a draw control by Halle Walsh, DU would score via a free position goal from Ludlow.
Trailing 14-10 with just over five minutes to play, William Smith would tack on three straight goals after a pair of Denison turnovers. The Big Red's five goal binge to end the game was started by Isreal off a pass from Ludlow. Allen would score for the fourth time of the day, this time via an 8-meter attempt, and thanks to a caused turnover by Melissa Weinsz, Ludlow found the back of the net.
With 1:06 to play, Claudia Rafi converted a free position attempt. Seconds later, Braun was carded for the second time, giving Denison an advantage on the offensive end. Reid Hirschey capitalized with her second goal of the contest with 43 seconds left.
On the ensuing draw control, William Smith's Jackie Rogers gained possession allowing the Herons to run out the clock, stopping the Denison comeback in its tracks.
Ludlow and Allen paced the Denison scoring attack with four goals apiece. Ludlow also added one assist and two draw controls. Whitney Powel finished with three ground balls and four draw controls while Weinz paced the defense with three caused turnovers.
Laura Van Horn posted 13 saves in the cage while her counterpart, Sarah Honan ended with nine saves for the Herons. Nine of William Smith's 17 goals were scored by Alexandra Bird (5 goals) and Hannah Connolly (4 goals).
William Smith outshot Denison, 40-33. They also won the draw control battle 18-15.
The loss drops Denison to 2-2 on the year while William Smith improves to 2-3. The Big Red will return to Ohio for a pair of games in Alliance, Ohio on March 21 vs. Adrian and March 22 vs. Mount Union.
