HOBOKEN, N.J. (March 6, 2010) – Senior captain Alyssa Pigott netted the 200th goal of her career 1:07 into the third overtime period to lift the No. 17 Stevens Institute of Technology women's lacrosse team to a thrilling, 11-10, victory over eighth-ranked Union College on Saturday afternoon in front of a huge crowd at the De Baun Athletic Complex. Stevens (2-0) was able to erase a four-goal deficit in the second half and got a free-position tally from freshman Joey Galligan with one second left in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Stevens scored the first goal of the contest when junior Michelle Buonacuore found junior Leah Wasserman 2:34 into the action.
Union (0-2), which has now lost two-straight overtime games, got three consecutive tallies from senior Jill LaForest (Acton, Mass.) to take a 3-1 lead before Pigott tallied the first of her three goals with 22:46 to go in the first half.
Union scored the game's next two goals before Pigott's second made it a 5-3 game, but the Dutchwomen scored two of the final three goals in the first half to take a 7-4 lead into the intermission.
LaForest gave Union its largest advantage (8-4) 2:15 into the second, but the Ducks remained composed and began their rally 12-plus minutes later. Junior Christine Smith put away a nice feed from Pigott to make it 8-5 Union with 15:15 left. Just 15 seconds later Pigott set up Galligan with her second goal of the game to trim the lead to two, and 1:13 after Galligan's tally, Smith converted a free-position attempt to cut the lead to one. Wasserman notched the equalizer with 12:46 to play, and the two teams remained knotted at eight (8-8) for the next 10:12.
The Dutchwomen were able to regain the lead with 2:14 remaining thanks to junior Kristin Joyce (Longmeadow, Mass.) who scored the third of her four goals on the day.
After her tally that gave Union the lead, Joyce controlled the ensuing draw and the Dutchwomen were able to maintain possession for the next 1:53. However, with 21 seconds left, Duck freshman Spencer Waybright forced a turnover and got the Ducks started in transition. With 16 seconds left, head coach Celine Cunningham called a timeout. The first attempt after the timeout sailed wide but the Ducks maintained possession and Galligan capitalized after a foul was called on Union with five seconds left.
Neither team scored in the first three-minute overtime, but Joyce scored with 51 seconds left in the second overtime period to give Union a 10-9 lead. That lead was short lived as the Ducks took the draw, and Pigott hooked up with Smith for her third goal of the game to tie things up.
Union controlled the opening draw in the third overtime period, but Stevens junior tri-captain Kate Cox caused a turnover, scooped up a ground ball, and started the Ducks on the offensive. Moments later, Pigott fired a rifle into the lower-right corner of the goal for the game winner, capping an outstanding all-around game for the entire Duck team.
Freshman goalkeeper Meg Collins came on in the second half and did a great job between the pipes for Stevens, making four impressive stops. Pigott finished with three goals, the last being the game-winner and 200th of her outstanding career, three assists, and two draw controls. Smith scored three times, notched five draw controls and two caused turnovers. Wasserman had two scores and four ground balls, while Galligan tallied three times. Buonacuore had two assists, and Cox caused a team-high four turnovers and picked up four ground balls.
Stevens had never beaten a team ranked as high as eighth in the nation previously and though it was a one-goal win, the Ducks dominated the stat sheet and possession. Stevens ended with a 38-24 advantage in shots and picked up 22 ground balls compared to 19 for Union.
The Dutchwomen were led by junior goalkeeper Cat Ruggerio (Huntington, N.Y.). She made 13 saves, stopping the Ducks on several attempts from point-blank range. Joyce and LaForest finished with four goals apiece and junior Melissa Hine (South Hadley, Mass.) notched a goal and three helpers.
Stevens will return to action on March 15 in San Antonio, Texas. The Ducks will take on Bowdoin College (Maine) in the first of two games on their spring break trip.
