EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire women's lacrosse team pulled away in the fourth quarter to defeat UW-River Falls 19-12 on Monday at Simpson Field. It was the Blugolds' first win over the Falcons in program history, and extended their win streak to four over the last few weeks.
UW-Eau Claire seized the lead in the first quarter and led for most of the game. Devon Crews (Fr. - St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) powered the charge with five goals and four assists, and Alexie Romanelli (So. - Naperville, Ill./Central) and Samantha Burns (So. - Mahtomedi, Minn.) added four goals apiece.
The Falcons scored the opening goal just 11 seconds into the game, but Romanelli answered 11 seconds later to tie the game. Reegan Werner (Fr. - Farmington, Minn.) put the Blugolds ahead 2-1 at the 12:32 mark of the quarter, and UW-Eau Claire led the rest of the way. Romanelli's goal started a four goal spurt, which featured two scores from Romanelli and another from Crews. Burns also scored in the period, with her last-minute strike putting the Blugolds ahead 5-3 entering the second quarter.
The Blugolds scored the first three goals of the second period, with Burns striking twice. Kylah Krause (Sr. - Belleville, Ill./East) also scored. The Falcons scored twice to cut the deficit to 8-5, but another Krause goal helped UW-Eau Claire carry a 9-6 advantage into halftime.
Romanelli and Crews struck in the first three minutes of the second half to widen the gap to 11-6 before UW-River Falls went on a 4-0 run to make it 11-10. Crews added two more pivotal goals in the final minute of the third quarter, and UW-Eau Claire outscored the Falcons 6-2 in the fourth to pull away. The Blugolds scored five straight at one point in the final quarter. Burns, Crews, Romanelli, Ruby Pozorski (So. - Burnsville, Minn.), Riley Domagala (Jr. - Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) and Lily Zygowicz (Fr. - Lafayette, Colo./Centaurus) all found the back of the net in the fourth.
Werner finished with a game-high five assists. Zygowicz and Crews were close behind with four assists each. Domagala also assisted a goal. Alexandria Shea (So. - Kenosha, Wis./Indian Trail) stopped nine shots in net to earn the victory.
The Blugolds held a 33-30 advantage in shots, led 21-13 in draw controls and 30-20 in ground balls.
UW-Eau Claire is scheduled to return to the field on Friday, April 21, at UW-River Falls. Game time is 7 p.m.
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