High Point University

Women’s Lacrosse wins thrilling home opener

HPU Women’s Lacrosse.

HPU Women's Lacrosse.

By Joe Wetzler

Coming off of a Conference Championship a season ago, the High Point University women’s lacrosse team had high expectations. They met those expectations with a huge come-from-behind victory. The team defeated Navy 11-10 in the first game of the season at Vert Stadium.

Christie Dougherty led the Panthers with three goals and an assist, scoring the winning goal with 4:20 left in the game. Heather Ziccarelli, Chelsea Thompson, and Courtney McLaughlin each scored a pair of goals to lead the Panthers over Navy.

Navy had a 7-4 lead at halftime but Dougherty came out and scored two quick goals to cut the deficit to one goal.

“We were timid in the first half,” said Coach Lyndsey Boswell. “We made some adjustments at halftime and came out more aggressive. The draw control in the second half helped change the momentum to our side.”

Navy took a 10-8 lead with 15 minutes of play left and that is when High Point tightened up. They scored the last three goals of the game, including Dougherty’s winning goal with just over four minutes to play. The Panthers felt the pressure in the final minutes when Navy was given a free-position shot, but freshman goalie, Julia Burns, stepped up and made the save.

“I was a little nervous, but I was very confident in our goalie,” said senior Ziccarelli.

Coach Boswell shared the nervousness.

“We didn’t want overtime. Julia stepped up and made a huge save for us,” said Boswell.

That is the type of strong competition that High Point will be faced with all season long. They have a very competitive schedule that includes Virginia Tech, Oregon, and Duke. Despite the strength of the opponents, the mindset of the High Point team remains the same.

They want to defend their Conference Championship and make a statement that High Point has an elite women’s lacrosse team.

When asked what her goals were for the season, senior attacker Alexis Goldman talked about success, good memories and friendships that will last forever.

“We want to defend our conference title, but I also want to have good memories and have lasting friendships with my teammates,” said Goodman.

This High Point University women’s lacrosse team is full of dedicated, hard workers. These qualities were highlighted last year when they won the conference title, even though it was only their first year as a program. This year they set the bar higher, with desires to win the tough games on their schedule.

High Point is looking to improve its performance from the Navy game on Wednesday Feb. 22, at Virginia Tech.

Look for High Point to be a force to be reckoned with this season and, as they hope, finish the year with another Conference Championship ring.