Senior attackers Steph Kelly and Annie DeFrino scored goals during the final three minutes as the Colorado College women’s lacrosse team kept its postseason hopes alive with a thrilling 11-10 victory at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Saturday.
Kelly leveled the score on an unassisted marker with 2:37 remaining, and then DeFrino struck for the game winner 56 seconds later to give the Tigers a lead they would not surrender.
Junior midfielder Ellie Meyer grabbed the ensuing draw control and Colorado College was able to run out the clock on its final possession.
CC led 7-3 after freshman midfielder Caroline Keller scored 8:01 into the second half, but Pomona-Pitzer scored five consecutive goals and took its first lead when Sonia Olson found the net with 13:53 to play.
Tallies by Keller and sophomore attacker Allie Thuet put the Tigers in front, 9-8, with 5:19 remaining, however the lead lasted less than a minute. Isabel Schmidt and Sal Marx scored 42 seconds apart as the Sagehens rallied to take their final lead with 3:55 to go.
Colorado College dominated the first half and led 5-0 after sophomore midfielder Lauren Pejza scored with a little less than 10 minutes to play, but Annie Price kept the Sagehens in the game by making 11 of her 22 saves during the opening 30 minutes to keep her team within striking distance.
The Tigers kept Pomona-Pitzer off the scoreboard until Sarah Woo found the net with 3:22 remaining before halftime.
As a team, CC won 13 of 23 draw controls and built a 45-22 advantage in total shots.
DeFrino led the Tigers with three goals.
Meyer scored twice and added an assist, while Keller also posted a pair of markers.
Kelly finished with a goal and three assists. She also had a team-high seven draw controls.
Meyer also produced four draw controls, two ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Freshman goaltender Alena Stern made eight saves for the Tigers, who improved to 10-3 with their second-consecutive win over a West Regional rival.
Olson and Kate Immergluck led the Sagehens with two goals and an assist.
Woo finished with a goal and three assist for Pomona-Pitzer, who slipped to 9-4.
Colorado College wraps up its two-game swing to Southern California on Sunday at Chapman University.
