WILMINGTON — The lacrosse matchup between Padua and Ursuline on April 29 was close throughout and came down to the final minutes. Caroline Meko tied the game earlier in the fourth quarter, and she followed that with the eventual game winner with 1:14 to go to help Padua to an 11-10 victory at Serviam Field.
The Raiders jumped out early against their rivals on a chilly, damp afternoon. After Ursuline won the opening draw, Delaney Sullivan fired an eight-meter chance past Pandas goalie Cassidy Cordery, and after winning the next draw, Caroline Coen also hit on an eight-meter chance. It didn’t take long for the Pandas to equalize. Emily Hill scored her first of the afternoon, crossing in front of Raiders goalie Lucy Copeland and going to the far post, and fellow freshman Meko scored on a low shot.
The Raiders came on late in the quarter to take control. Elizabeth Songle scored on a one-timer with 2:26 to go, restoring a one-goal lead. They would add two more before the first ended, and almost had another, but Cordery made a nice stop.
Padua came out firing in the second, but they could not cut into the lead. Copeland made several saves, and the Pandas also rang a shot off a post and missed a few others. The Pandas ended their scoring drought with 2:31 to go before halftime when Meko connected while her team was shorthanded. Each team added a goal before the break.
Liliana Rispoli cut the Ursuline lead to 6-5 a minute into the third, streaking down the right side and shooting high, and Hill made the Raiders pay for a turnover, cutting toward the net and taking a pass from Meko, scoring with 7:55 left in the quarter.
The Raiders needed just 40 seconds to answer that goal, with Songle taking advantage of an eight-meter opportunity. She scored again shortly thereafter, going end to end after a Copeland save to make it 8-6. Padua tied the score, but an eight-meter goal with 12 seconds to go put Ursuline back on top after three.
Cordery made two huge saves in the first 40 seconds of the fourth, and her teammates capitalized, with Hill going top shelf after the second, once again knotting the score. The Raiders took a penalty after the Padua goal, but Songle, with an assist to Coen, tallied while the team was short.
That lead didn’t last too long. Meko was all alone in front of the net after a turnover, and she tied the score with about eight minutes left. It was still tied as time dwindled and overtime loomed, but Meko took care of that. She had the ball behind the net, moved out front toward the eight-meter line, turned around and fired a shot low into the net.
Meko finished with six goals, while Hill had four. Cordery had eight saves. Padua (10-1) is back in action Friday against Delaware Military at 4:45 p.m. at Chase Fieldhouse.
Songle had four goals for the Raiders while Coen added three. Ursuline (5-3) is home Friday against Sanford at 4 p.m.
Photos by Mike Lang.
