Box Score

The Albright College women's lacrosse team beat rival Alvernia 13-10 on Wednesday, but the Lions were eliminated from Commonwealth Conference playoff contention by Nora Walsh's goal with 38 seconds remaining in the game.

With the possibility of a three-way tie between Albright, Alvernia and Widener for the final Commonwealth playoff spot for a second straight year, the Lions knew going in that they needed to win by at least four goals to secure the tiebreaker. That would have allowed Albright to clinch its first-ever playoff berth Saturday with a win over Hood, if Widener and Alvernia also lost to higher-ranked teams over the weekend.

Freshman Giuliana Rizzotti scored with 47 seconds remaining to give Albright that four-goal cushion, 13-9. Albright false started on the ensuing draw control however, and Walsh raced right down for the dagger goal just nine seconds later.

Albright had one more decent chance, as Amanda Smith won the draw and beat a double-team on the left side. As she broke in front of goal and went to shoot, the ball was stripped from her stick at the last second however.

Smith scored her 100th career goal late in the first half, the first in program history to reach the milestone. She finished with five goals, one assist, six draw controls, four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Rizzotti had two goals and two assists, while Erin Farrell and Rebecca Sartorio tallied twice each as well. Junior Meghan Wilson recorded her 97th career goal early in the contest.

Freshman Mariah Cullen scored with 7:25 remaining to give Albright a four-goal advantage at 12-8. The Lions held on for the next few minutes, with goalie Emily Hutson stopping free-position shots by both Walsh and Candace Knight. Albright turned it over several times on the clear however, and Julie Sutton struck with 2:07 remaining and Nicole Klusewitz on the sideline for a yellow card.

Albright quickly jumped out to a four-goal lead less than halfway through the first period.

Wilson nearly dropped a ball but recovered and blew past the defender lunging for it, making it 3-1 Albright. Rizzotti finished off a nice move, and then assisted Farrell for a 5-1 lead with 16:27 left in the first half.

Alvernia finally got a goal to slow the Lion run, but Smith won the ensuing draw and went all the way for a 6-2 scoreline. The Crusaders responded with three goals in 1:44 to get back to within a pair at halftime.

Cullen was extremely unlucky in the game, hitting the post twice in the early minutes. She later had a chance to make it 10-6 in the second half but hit the pipe for a third time.

The Lions improve to 7-9, 2-4 and beat their local rivals for the first time after a well-played (though ultimately heartbreaking) victory. Albright will conclude its season at home on Saturday, at 1 p.m. vs. Hood College.