HAMDEN, Conn.- Sophomore Olivia Higson (Cheadle Hulme, England/Withington Girl's School) scored her second goal of the game with 1:26 remaining in overtime to lift Monmouth University women's lacrosse team to an 11-10 come-from-behind victory over rival Quinnipiac on Wednesday afternoon.

After falling behind by four goals in the early part of the first half, Monmouth took the momentum for the final 40+ minutes of the game, outscoring the Bobcats 10-5 to extend its winning streak to four games. Monmouth is now 7-3 overall and 2-0 in league play.

“I was really proud of how we came back,” said Head Coach Denise Wescott. “We got in a hole early, partly because we weren't working hard enough and got tentative. Once we started to come back we worked hard to get the draw and then made some great plays in our ride to get possession back and tie it. I thought we moved the ball better in the second half and got better opportunities to score which helped us catch up. I was really pleased in overtime that we were composed, got the draw and maintained possession long enough to make a couple big plays when we needed to in order to get the win. It was great to see Olivia finish the last eight-meter shot.”

Monmouth found itself down by one to start the second half but couldn't tie the game up until Marial Pierce's (Middleburg, Va./St. John's Catholic Prep) free position goal with 17:03 remaining made it 8-8. The game didn't remain tied for long as Quinnipiac answered less than three minutes later to take a 9-8 lead. Higson's second goal tied the game up at 9-9 and Monmouth took its first lead of the game with Pierce's third goal of the game coming at the 5:26 mark. Quinnipiac, searching for its second win of the season, would not go away quietly as all-league selection Kyra Ochwat recorded her third goal of the half to tie it up 10 seconds later. Each team would have quality chances in the final five minutes but the two squads headed into overtime locked up at 10-10.

The Hawks recorded the only two shots in the first half of the overtime period with Pierce's attempt going high and Higson's being saved by Bobcat goalie Samantha Tilts. Junior Michelle Gonzales (Marlton, N.J./Cherokee) won the ensuing draw and the Hawks worked it around for a good shot until Higson was fouled and awarded an 8-meter attempt. Higson buried the shot, giving the Hawks an 11-10 lead with just under 90 seconds remaining. Pierce won the following draw and the Blue & White were able to run out the clock for its second conference win.

Quinnipiac exploded to a 5-1 lead in the first 20 minutes of the game before the Hawk offense woke up.  Senior Allison Stathius (Delran, N.J./Delran) got the ball rolling, scoring an unassisted goal with 8:46 remaining to cut the lead to three. Higson scored 1:59 later and Monmouth found itself back just by two. Quinnipiac's Kelly Babstock tallied her second goal of the half to return the Bobcat lead to three but Marial Pierce (Middleburg, Va./St. John's Catholic Prep) and Stathius notched a pair of goals in the final five minutes to cut the halftime lead to 6-5.

Higson finished with a game-high four points while Pierce had three goals but also had six ground balls, six draw controls and three caused turnovers from her attack position. Stathius had two goals and an assist, three draw controls and a pair of caused turnovers while sophomore Claudia LaMarca (West Long Branch, N.J./Shore Regional) recorded a shorthanded goal and three caused turnovers.

Monmouth held a 31-22 advantage in shots but Tilts turned away 14 shots herself. Quinnipiac dominated the ground ball category with 34 while Monmouth was whistled for 32 fouls compared to 18 for the home Bobcats. Monmouth owned the draw circle to the tune of 17-8, while QU committed 17 turnovers in the loss.

The Hawks return home for their next game, facing Siena on Saturday at 12 PM at Monmouth Stadium.