BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's lacrosse team defeated Otterbein University 14-8 for a Seniors' Day victory in the regular season finale inside George Finnie Stadium.
Senior two-time All-OAC midfielder Megan Patrick scored a game-high tying four goals and added one assist for a game-high five points in the win for the Yellow Jackets (9-6, 6-2 OAC). Junior All-OAC attack Brie Martineau (Strongsville) chipped in four points off three goals and one dish while sophomore midfielder Maddie Ray (Cuyahoga Falls/Akron Revere) also recorded a hat trick. Senior three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC attack Hannah Albrechta (Uniontown/Green) tallied one goal and two assists for three points and junior midfielder Savanna Jaekle (Lockport, N.Y.) added a pair of scores.
In the net, sophomore goalkeeper Ashleigh Hildreth (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Sweet Home) made six saves to pick up her ninth win of the season.
Senior attacker Abby Smoot matched Patrick with a game-high tying four goals. Sophomore midfielder Julia Karas added a hat trick while sophomore midfielder Cameron Finnegan dished out two assists in the loss for the Cardinals (7-10, 4-4 OAC).
Before the game, the Yellow Jackets took time to honor their three seniors for their successful women's lacrosse careers – Albrechta, Patrick and attack Mackenzie Moran (Carlisle, Pa.).
Defense was the mark of the first half as neither team could find the back of the net. Jaekle finally broke through the stalemate with a free-position goal at the 15:03 mark. Otterbein got on the scoreboard itself just over a minute later before Ray added yet another free position goal to get the Yellow Jackets going on a 3-0 run. Both teams traded a goal to finish the half, which was capped off by a last second score from Patrick for a 5-2 BW halftime lead. However, before the squads could get in the locker room, junior All-OAC defender Hannah Stein (Medina/Highland) won her 81st draw control of the season to break the school's single-season record.
The Cardinals opened the second half scoring with ricochet goal but Patrick and Albrechta were able to connect on two straight BW goals with Patrick finding the back of the net first followed by Albrechta. Otterbein answered with a pair of goals itself to trim the Yellow Jackets' lead down to 7-5 with 23:57 left. After each team added another score, Martineau kick-started a 4-0 run in which she netted two goals and added one assist as BW built up to a six-goal advantage. Both teams traded two more goals in the final six minutes as the Yellow Jackets held on for the 14-8 win.
With the win, BW secured the No. 3 seed in the 2019 OAC Tournament and will travel to second-seeded Capital University for an OAC Semifinal game on Wednesday, May 1, at 7 p.m. inside Bernlohr Stadium.
