Thanks to a tie-breaking goal by Gretchen Richter ’18 with less than two minutes of play remaining, the Bison defeated Holy Cross in a 10-9 thriller at Graham Field on April 2. Also contributing to the impressive victory were Eve Lukowski ’18 with three goals and Emily Becker ’16 with two. Their current record of 9-3 has earned the Bison the most wins in a season since 2009, and puts them in a tie for third-most in the history of the program.

The Orange and Blue started the game strong, jumping out to a 4-0 lead halfway through the first half with two goals from Richter and one apiece from Becker and Bukowski. The Crusaders came fighting back, scoring five consecutive goals. With about six minutes left in the first half, Becker tied the game at 5-5. Richter and Lukowski each scored another goal in the last minutes of the half, increasing the Bison lead to 7-5.

Coming into the second half, the Bison started strong with a goal by Christina Manis ’17, assisted by Becker. Keeping the fans on their feet, Holy Cross scored four out of the next five goals. Tied at 9-9, Richter won her fourth draw control. The Bison passed the ball around for 30 seconds, and with 1:41 remaining, Becker connected with Richter at the top of the box where she managed to find the back of the net to collect a goal.

The Bison defense, led by goalie Jamie DeWitt ’19, combined to cause 12 turnovers. Sam Rickels ’16 recorded five ground balls. Overall, the Orange and Blue tallied 17 ground balls and 10 draw controls.

“The game came down to who was going to out-hustle who. We came out on top because we refused to let up offensively and never allowed an easy shot on defensive,” Lucia Smircich ’17 said. “By limiting our own mistakes and out working our competition on the draw, we were able to come out on top of Holy Cross.”

The Orange and Blue will look to improve their 3-1 conference record as they host American on April 9.