Box Score Freshman attacker Steph Kelly struck for the deciding goal with five seconds left in overtime to give Colorado College a dramatic 12-11 victory over Augustana College on Friday afternoon at Washburn Field.

Kelly took a pass from sophomore midfielder Sadie Cole and put a high shot between the crossbar and the stick of Viking junior goaltender Jenna Hoffman.

"It's up there as one of the most exciting goals I've ever scored," Kelly said. "In overtime against a really good team, it was amazing. A million thoughts went through my head as I was in front of the crease. Our coaches were telling us to shoot low. I didn't shoot low, but luckily it went past the goalie's stick."

"We did a great job of re-defending the ball after we turned it over. I was at the top of the eight and ran down toward the right post. Sadie saw the look and hit me at just the right time."
Kelly also won the final draw control to close out the game.

The Tigers appeared to have the victory within their grasp when senior midfielder Dylan Voneiff evaded a triple team and put the ball in an open net to give her team a 10-8 lead with 1:24 remaining in regulation.

Augustana cut its deficit in half when junior midfielder Kaylee Nolan scored off of a feed from junior attacker Emily Handrahan with 50 seconds to play, then sophomore attacker Anne Hopkins struck with 10 seconds to go to force the extra period.

With an extra player, Nolan gave the Vikings their first lead of the contest 1:48 into overtime after taking a pass from Hopkins.

One minute later, Cole knotted the score when she converted on a free-position shot.

After switching ends, senior attacker Virginia Logue pounced on the draw control and Colorado College maintained possession until Augustana sophomore midfielder Olivia Mayer forced a turnover and grabbed the ground ball.

Seconds later, CC's attack re-engaged to force another turnover, and Cole scooped up the loose ball and immediately dished it to Kelly at the edge of the crease.

"Big players come through in big games, and Sadie's ground ball and pass were big plays," head coach Susan Stuart said. "We've been working really hard on our attack re-defending. They worked hard all game and that was clearly great timing. It was a critical to have that come into play.

"Steph showed great composure for a first-year player and she's only going to get better. She has a very high lacrosse IQ and we're going to build on it. She's has a great future."

The Tigers led 7-3 after Kelly scored on a free-position shot 5:33 into the second half. Despite being knocked to the turf, Logue was called for a foul which triggered a four-goal outburst by the Vikings

After senior attacker Hilary Kargl scored with 22:06 to play, Augustana won four consecutive draw controls and maintained possession for more than five minutes. During that time, Nolan struck for a pair of goals and senior midfielder Kelly Stelzer tied the game at 7-7 with 18:28 to play.

"We were having trouble getting a draw control during that sequence, so we made some adjustments," Stuart said. "If you have the ball, you have an opportunity. If you don't, it makes it that much tougher. I thought our defense played fantastic. They made a lot of plays."

During the final 21 minutes, Colorado College won seven of the final 10 draw controls, including three of four in overtime.

Kelly led CC with four goals, two assists and three draw controls.

Voneiff scored twice, while junior attacker Sammy Blair, sophomore midfielder Mary Taussig, and Cole each recorded a goal and an assist.

Cole grabbed a game-high seven ground balls and caused four turnovers, while sophomore defender Abbe Sawabini forced six turnovers and registered five ground balls.

Junior goaltender Martha Smith made nine saves for the Tigers, who evened their record at 2-2.

"Our last two games were emotionally and mentally tough for us, and that was something we needed to put behind us," Stuart said. "It was great to have a game where we did all of the right things at the right time and got the victory."

Colorado College finished with a 29-26 edge in total shots and a 27-17 advantage in ground balls.  

Nolan struck for a game-high five goals for Augustana, while Handrahan recorded four assists.

Hoffman stopped eight shots for the Vikings, who slipped to 2-1.

The Tigers return to action on Monday, March 9, when they play host to Wittenberg University at 4 p.m. on Washburn Field.