MONTEVALLO, Ala. – On a rainy Sunday afternoon, Montevallo women's lacrosse overcame a three-goal deficit to top McKendree, 11-9.

In her first start of the season, Ashlei Piazza tallied her first save of the day just 35 seconds into the game before the Bearcats took an early lead with a pair of goals. Piazza added a second save before Mikaela Barbieri fired Montevallo's first shot on goal of the day just moments before Ellery Shearer found the back of the net to cut the lead down to 2-1 with 5:53 left in the first. McKendree ended the first quarter on a 2-0 run to take a 4-1 lead into the second.

The Bearcats extended their lead to 5-1 at the 11:58 mark of the second before Mikaela Barbieri took advantage of a McKendree penalty to score her first goal of the day. Just over two minutes later, freshman Bridget Quayle scored the first free-position goal of the afternoon for Montevallo to cut the lead down to 5-3. The Falcon defense held strong with a pair of caused turnovers to close the half trailing by two.

Piazza added another save to open the second half before Claire Withington brought the Falcons back within one at the 10:40 mark. Just under a minute later, Carsyn Tinney tied the game at 5-5 with Barbieri credited for the assist. The Falcons fired two shots on goal before Kiley Shea game Montevallo its first lead of the day at 6-5 with 6:39 left in the quarter. McKendree tied the game with a free-position goal to send the game to the fourth in a 6-6 tie.

Shea opened the fourth quarter with back-to-back goals to regain control with an 8-6 lead and 10:43 to play. McKendree answered with a goal of its own at the 9:48 mark before Withington pushed the lead back out to two with an unassisted effort. McKendree responded quickly at the 8:01 mark. The Falcons used every second of the shot clock before Withington tallied her hat trick with 5:38 to go and gave Montevallo a 10-8 lead. Shearer stretched Montevallo's lead out to 11-8 with a free-position goal at the 3:59 mark before the Bearcats added the final goal of the day in the closing minute to give Montevallo its 11-9 win.

GAME INFORMATION

Score: Montevallo 11 | McKendree 9

Records: Montevallo 4-4 | McKendree 4-2

Location: Lacrosse Stadium | Montevallo, Ala.

GAME NOTES

·      Montevallo outshot McKendree 31-24 on the day with the Falcons taking a 24-15 advantage in shots on goal.

·      Montevallo tallied a near-perfect 22-for-26 mark in clears while holding McKendree to a 13-for-23 mark.

·      The Falcons lead the game with 29 ground balls to just 17 from the Bearcats.

·      Claire Withington and Kiley Shea both tallied hat tricks for the Falcons while Withington led in points with four.

·      In her first start of the season, Ashlei Piazza tallied six saves while leading the team with seven ground balls and three caused turnovers.

UP NEXT: Montevallo is set to host Thomas More on Tuesday, March 11 at 1 p.m.