Bulldogs lose early lead, fall to Navy in overtime, 9-8

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Emily Columbus (East Northport, N.Y.) tied the game at 8-8 with five seconds left in regulation, but Julia Collins would net the game-winner four minutes into overtime to lead Navy to a 9-8 victory over the Bryant University women's lacrosse team Sunday afternoon.

And while the Bulldogs (3-2) knotted the game in the final seconds of regulation time, Sunday's visitors were the victims of a six-goal Navy (5-2) run that erased a 7-2 Bryant lead in the final 19 minutes of the contest. Morgan Young led the Midshipmen with three second-half scores, including a free position goal that gave the hosts their first lead of the game, 8-7, with two minutes to play.

Bryant opened play with the game's first three scores, before Kelly Larkin got Navy on the board 10 minutes in. But Columbus would respond with her first score of the day, and sophomore Jess DeMeo (Mount Sinai, N.Y.) moved the margin to 5-1 with an extra-man tally with 7:10 remaining in the first half.

Rookie Leah Nocera (Westwood, Mass.) made it three-straight Bulldog goals six minutes into the second frame, assisted by classmate Caitlin Breglia (Long Beach, N.Y.), but Navy would cut Bryant's lead to 6-2 less than 30 seconds later with an unassisted score from Jenna Collins.

Sophomore Lauren Britton (Monmouth Beach, N.J.), who opened the scoring on the day, got back on the board with 19:13 left on the clock for the 7-2 lead, but Larkin's goal with 19 to play kickstarted six-straight tallies from Midshipmen sticks to erase that margin and hand the home team the 8-7 lead.

Columbus, Britton and Nocera would each score twice to lead the Bulldog offense, while Young's hat trick (4 points) paced the game. Junior netminder Samantha Santeramo (Wantagh, N.Y.) was stellar between the pipes for the Black and Gold, making a career-high 18 saves (5 ground balls) despite the loss. Senior defender Carly Cronin (Feeding Hills, Mass.) also posted a career best with a game-high seven ground balls. Senior captain Molly Martin (Island Park, N.Y.) recorded three caused turnovers.

Bryant's offense was incredibly accurate on the day, scoring on eight of just 17 shots. Navy fired 48, including 17 from Young alone. The Midshipmen just edged out the Bulldogs in ground balls, 24-23, but dominated off the draw, 14-6. The Bulldogs suffered from twice as many miscues, turning the ball over 23 times to Navy's 11.

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday, taking on the University of Delaware on the road at 5 p.m.