POTSDAM, NY- The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) women's lacrosse team roared back for a 12-11 win this afternoon at Clarkson. The Engineers faced a four-goal deficit midway through the third quarter, however RPI would rally to score seven of the final nine goals of the game to steal the Liberty League victory in the final day of the regular season.
Ella Graff netted a career-high seven goals to propel the Engineers to the come-from-behind triumph. Graff's final goal of the afternoon, the game-winner, came with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.
Quinn Wollard scored four times, marking the fourth time in the last five games she has posted a multi-goal effort. Audrey Silverman registered a tally for a fourth consecutive contest to go along with a team-best two assists.
RPI jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, with Graff and Wollard scoring within the first five minutes of the game.
Clarkson would pocket the next five goals to establish a three-goal lead before Wollard netted consecutive strikes to help the Engineers cut the margin to one.
The Golden Knights would respond with four of the next five scores to give the hosts their largest lead of the game at 9-5.
Silverman would strike with 6:46 left in the third, kickstarting an RPI closing effort that featured five goals from Graff and one from Wollard.
Jenny Canfield made 11 saves, and Kat Cama and Emily Speck forced two turnovers each on the defensive end. Cama had a team-high two ground balls as well.
The victory locks RPI into the #5 seed in next week's Liberty League tournament. The Engineers will begin postseason play with an operating round matchup at Union on Tuesday, with a start time to be announced.