QU Women's Lacrosse Fights Back on the Road, Takes Down Iona in Overtime

Wednesday, April 5

Mazzella Field - New Rochelle, NY

3:00 PM

Quinnipiac University

3-8, 2-1MAAC

Iona

3-9, 0-3MAAC

Quinnipiac

Iona

QU Women's Lacrosse Fights Back on the Road, Takes Down Iona in Overtime

4/5/2017 6:04:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Allison Kuhn Nets the Game-Winner in OT, Bobcats Overcome Three-Goal Deficit for Third Time this Season

By: QU Sports Information

NEW ROCHELLE, New York - Allison Kuhn (Kingsville, Maryland) whipped around the back of the cage, darted in front and blasted home the game-winning tally in overtime as the Quinnipiac women's lacrosse came from behind to defeat Iona, 14-13, on Wednesday afternoon from Mazzella Field.

Kuhn's thrilling tally less than one minute into the overtime period, sealed yet another three-goal comeback for the Bobcats as this marks the third time in 2017 that Quinnipiac has overcame a three-goal deficit to win. The victory marks the second straight win for Quinnipiac who move over .500 in MAAC play at 2-1 while improving to 3-8 for the season while Iona slips to 3-9 in 2017 and remain winless in the conference at 0-3.

ALLISON KUHN!!!!! GAME-WINNER pic.twitter.com/Yv5Y87dkuu
— QU Women's Lacrosse (@QU_WLAX) April 5, 2017

Kyle Larkin (Holbrook, New York) posted nine of her 13 saves in the second half alone, spearheading a defensive turnaround as the Bobcats allowed just three goals in the final 30+ minutes of play. Just one game removed from denying several go-ahead shot attempts in a last-second victory at Manhattan, Larkin came up huge once again as she saved six-of-seven Iona shot attempts in the final 10 minutes of play. None of those six stops were bigger than one with three seconds left as Iona's leading scorer Pamela Giordano broke loose and fired a shot on-frame from point-blank range that the junior keeper turned aside.

HUGE SAVE FROM LARKIN!!! She denies the game-winning shot attempt and we're headed to OT pic.twitter.com/2Yso24RUtp
— QU Women's Lacrosse (@QU_WLAX) April 5, 2017

Prior to the game-saving stop in the final seconds, Larkin denied Erin Pugh with just over two minutes remaining, which led to Kuhn scoring the game-tying goal with 37 seconds remaining that made it 13-13, helping force the extra session.

In overtime, Quinnipiac took full advantage of an Iona miscue as Jenna Tolzmann was called for a false start after the Gaels had secured the draw control that started the overtime period. The gifted possession wasn't wasted as Kuhn received the ball and swung from right to left behind the cage. Coming in with speed, Kuhn cradled into the teeth of the Iona defense and went low on keeper Samantha Tyo to send the Bobcat bench into hysterics.

Quinnipiac was the better side throughout the majority of the first half, as the Bobcats jumped out to a commanding 6-2 lead on the backs of a 5-0 run midway through the stanza. Iona could not handle the lightning quick Alex Hlesciak (Lumberton, New Jersey) as the senior scored four straight goals over a span of 3:35, good enough for just the second hat trick of her career.

Iona answered with two straight goals but the Bobcats picked up another extended run as Brianna Fitzgerald (Norwalk, Connecticut) scored a pair and Victoria Bobinski (Kinnelon, New Jersey) netted her third of the season to give Quinnipiac their biggest lead of the game at 9-4.

Despite all the momentum swinging in favor of Quinnipiac, the Bobcats suffered an extended scoring drought, going scoreless for nearly 20 minutes while the Gaels rode an 8-0 run into a 12-9 lead which stood deep into the second half.

Trailing by three, the Bobcats weren't in unfamiliar territory as Quinnipiac trailed Manhattan and CCSU by three in the second half before coming back to win each respective game. Fitzgerald started the rally with her third of the day, good enough for the freshman's first career hat trick. Ashley Bobinski (Kinnelon, New Jersey) continued the pushback and Amy Hauser (East Northport, New York) picked a great time for her first career tally as the goal capped a 3-0 run that tied the score at 12-12.

Hlesciak (four), Fitzgerald (three) and Kuhn (three) each tallied a hat trick while Ashley Bobinski added one assist to give her a two-point game. Kiera Kelly (West Islip, New York) was sensational on the defensive end, leading the charge for the Bobcats with team-highs in draw controls (six), ground balls (three) and caused turnovers (three). Kelly's six draw controls are a career high for the junior.

Quinnipiac held a 17-11 edge in draw controls, snagging a season high in that department while the Gaels outshot the Bobcats 37-29.

The Bobcats conclude their three-game MAAC road swing on Saturday at 1 PM as Quinnipiac heads to Poughkeepsie to take on Marist.