Central Michigan University
5-7, 1-3
Stetson
5-10,1-5
First Atlantic Sun Win Comes In OT
4/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Lacrosse
Zach Libby, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Perhaps it wasn't exactly how the Central Michigan lacrosse team might have pictured its first Atlantic Sun Conference victory.
Nevertheless, the Chippewas will certainly take it.
Jocelyne Lemay scored 41 seconds into overtime Sunday, lifting the Chippewas to an 11-10 victory over Stetson at the CMU Lacrosse-Soccer Stadium.
The win lifted the Chippewas to 5-7, 1-3. Stetson is 5-10, 1-5. The win was a breakthrough for CMU, not only because it was the first in league play for the first-year program, but also because it keeps alive its hopes of earning a berth in the conference tournament as one of the top six teams.
The Chippewas are in seventh place in the league with four conference games remaining.
"We have a very good shot in getting the fifth or sixth seed in the tournament and it's very exciting to think about," coach Sara Tisdale said.
Lemay's goal, which came off a Riley Huda assist, put a happy ending on what otherwise would have been a very disappointing day.
The Hatters overcame a 10-6 deficit with four goals in the final 1 minute, 55 seconds of regulation time. Taylor Patrizi's goal with 16 seconds left tied it 10-10.
Tisdale said the Chippewas may have learned a valuable lesson on Sunday about finishing a game.
"We knew we needed to make sure that we were sliding and recovering to cutters quickly," Tisdale said. "We had to rely hard on one-on-one ball defense and that just didn't happen really well in the last two minutes obviously."
Lemay and Natalie Bloiarz scored three goals apiece for CMU. Anna Schoonover added two, and Summer Abdalla, Logan Halvorson and Auguste Jepsen each tallied one.
Dominique Hamman, the anchor in net for Central Michigan, faced 16 shots and finished with six saves
"Dom is her own biggest critic and she'll watch this film, no doubt about it," Tisdale said. "She'll get better as these games go on. She's just a gamer."
The Chippewas outshot the Hatters, 20-16, and controlled 16 draws to Stetson's seven. Stetson held a 26-23 edge in ground balls.
The Chippewas go to Georgia next weekend for a pair of Atlantic Sun games. They Kennesaw State (4-9, 2-3) on Friday and Mercer (6-8, 3-2) on Sunday.
