Quinnipiac University
Monmouth
Kyra Ochwat Becomes QU Women's Lacrosse All-Time Leading Scorer in 11-10 Double Overtime Loss to Monmouth
4/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
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HAMDEN, Connecticut - History was made on the QU Lacrosse Turf Field on Wednesday but unfortunately the record-breaking moment wasn't enough to push Quinnipiac past Monmouth as the Bobcats were defeated by the Hawks, 11-10, in double overtime. Quinnipiac's offensive star senior Kyra Ochwat (Farmingdale, New York) became the all-time leading scorer in Quinnipiac women's lacrosse history with 195 career points, passing Sarah Allen '13 (194) for first place on the all-time list.
Quinnipiac (1-10, 0-3 MAAC) came to play on Wednesday as the Bobcats' upset bid against Monmouth (7-3, 2-0 MAAC), one of the elite teams in the MAAC, went down to the wire with multiple game-winning opportunities for each side in the waning minutes of regulation and overtime.
Ochwat tallied a team-high three goals to put her at 195 career points, surpassing Allen for the most in Bobcat history. The senior attack has compiled 141 goals and 54 assists throughout 56 games in her four-year career in the blue and gold. With at least five games still remaining in the 2015 season, Ochwat stands a good chance at becoming the all-time leading lacrosse scorer (men's or women's) in Quinnipiac history as Joe Baglio '02 tallied 207 throughout his career with the Bobcats.
"Kyra will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most prolific scorers to ever wear the blue and gold," said head coach Danie Caro. "We are incredibly proud of her achievement today."
As monumental as the achievement was for Ochwat and the women's lacrosse program, the senior attack made it known in her postgame comments that the milestone "would have felt much better with a win."
Quinnipiac certainly played one of its best games of the 2015 season as the Bobcats jumped all over Monmouth early with five of the first six goals scored in the game. Danielle La Rocca (Voorhees, New Jersey) scored the first goal of the game just 57 seconds from the opening draw and Devin Kelly (Miller Place, New York) followed that up with a goal on an excellent feed from Kelly Babstock (Mississauga, Ontario) to make it 2-0 Quinnipiac early.
Monmouth responded with their first goal but Quinnipiac came back and continued their first half domination with three straight tallies to make it 5-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the stanza.
Kelly fed Aileen Carey (Long Beach, New York) for the third goal and Kathleen DeVito (Glastonbury, Connecticut) followed that up with a goal just 31 seconds later on a feed from Carey. The Bobcats had the Hawks, a 2014 MAAC Tournament team, behind the eight-ball early as Monmouth's head coach Denise Wescott was forced to call a timeout.
Quinnipiac's offense, which has reached double figures in scoring just one other game this season, was clicking all afternoon against what was the 13th-ranked scoring defense (7.78) in the country. Monmouth's goalkeeper Katie Donohoe – ranked 15th in NCAA Div. I in save percentage (.486) and goals against average (7.93) – was left guessing throughout as the Bobcats registered goals on 10 of their 13 shots-on-goal for the game.
"We played very well today against a very talented Monmouth squad," Caro said. "I was very pleased with our intensity and the way we executed the game plan. The ball didn't bounce our way at the end, but we had a lot of positives in this game that we can build upon."
As the first half wore on, the draw controls began to swing in favor of Monmouth as the Hawks went on a momentum-changing 4-1 run to end the opening half. Four different goal scorers from Monmouth helped bring the Hawks back into the game against a highly competitive and gamely Quinnipiac squad.
Back-and-forth play highlighted the early stages of the second half as the two sides traded goals throughout the first 20+ minutes of play. After going scoreless in the first half, Ochwat started to impose her will on the game as she scored eight minutes apart, the second of which putting the Bobcats ahead, 9-8.
Samantha Tilts (Port Washington, New York), who played arguably her best game of the season, was sensational throughout but especially in the second half as she tallied nine of her 14 saves in the second stanza alone. The 14 saves for Tilts tie a season-high for the senior goalkeeper while also representing the second-most for her in a single-game throughout her 52-game career.
Even with the stellar goalkeeping throughout, Monmouth's offensive attack was persistent as the Hawks controlled possession and worked their way to the 10-9 lead, their first of the game, with 5:26 remaining.
Ochwat's record-breaking moment was a classic display of skill and athleticism as she received a pass from Babstock in-transition, beat her defender down the field, faked a shot going left, spun around and fired one past Donohoe low to tie the score, 10-10.
Goalkeeping was crucial down the stretch as Tilts made a big stop one minute later before Donohoe stonewalled Carey, who was in prime scoring position three feet away from the cage, with just 16 seconds remaining to force the game into overtime.
Tilts made a huge save with 10 seconds left in the first overtime period but again the consistent pressure from Monmouth forced QU into a foul in their defensive end. Monmouth's free position attempt resulted in the game-winner as Olivia Higson found the back of the net to give the Hawks the 11-10 lead.
Monmouth then came up with the biggest draw control of the game and worked the ball around the edge before the clock expired.
Babstock tied her career-high with five points (two goals, three assists) while Ochwat (three goals), DeVito (two goals, one assist), Carey (one goal, one assist) and Devin Kelly (one goal, one assist) all registered multi-point games for the Bobcats.
"Kelly, Katie and Kyra did a great job managing the pace on offense, and we were very happy with the scoring opportunities we generated," Caro said. "If we can continue to play like this, I like our chances on Saturday."
Lost in the shuffle for Quinnipiac was an incredible effort with ground balls all afternoon. The 16 Bobcats who saw action racked up 34 ground balls which is good enough for the most in a single-game since QU amassed 43 against Bryant on March 13, 2010 (88 games ago). QU has recorded 30+ ground balls just four times since the 2010 season. Briana Fountain (Marshfield, Massachusetts) and Kiera Kelly (West Islip, New York) led the way with six ground balls each. Leah Walter (Londonderry, New Hampshire) and Tilts each tallied five while Babstock racked up four. All five Bobcats either tied or set new career-highs on the afternoon.
Babstock's great all-around game continued with three draw controls and one caused turnover. Kiera Kelly, who is attempting to become the first Bobcat freshman to lead the team in ground balls and caused turnovers, added two caused turnovers on the afternoon. Carly Knowles (Garden City, New York) returned to the lineup from injury for the first time since March 14 (three games ago) and tallied one ground ball. Vicki Kuhn (East Hampstead, New Hampshire) also played great defensively with two caused turnovers and two ground balls.
"Our defensive unit played great together today," Caro said. "Kiera Kelly was outstanding and it was really nice to have Carly back on the field."
Quinnipiac heads back on the road for a MAAC contest at Manhattan on Saturday from Gaelic Park. First draw is set for 11:00 a.m.
Contact: Maxx McNall; maxx.mcnall@quinnipiac.edu
