LEWISBURG, Pa. – Sophomore Anna Stein's second goal of the night with 44 seconds left in regulation tied it at 15-15 and sent the Lafayette women's lacrosse tilt with Bucknell to overtime on Wednesday evening in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the Leopards couldn't seal the deal as the Bison's Lillie Hunt slipped a shot past sophomore goalie Quinn Lacy for the overtime winner in a 16-15 defeat.

Bucknell opened the game on the front foot, scoring the first four goals to lead by a 4-0 score after 10 minutes of action. Lafayette settled in to respond with three straight, including a pair from senior Hannah Davey to make it a one-goal game into the second half of the opening frame.

The Bison added three of the next four over the next nine minutes to go back up three, 7-4. However, the Leopards countered with a Jane Kirby tally off a feed from freshman Olivia Cunningham to take it to intermission with momentum on the visiting side, down just two, 7-5.

Bucknell held that two-goal margin through the start of the second half, but Lafayette surged around the 19-minute mark to take its first lead of the game on an unassisted tally from Stein at 15:45, up 11-10. The Leopards used Stein's tally to spark a 4-1 run that gave them their largest lead of the contest, ahead 14-11 with 9:56 to play.

The Bison answered back, though, scoring four straight to regain the lead at 15-14 with 3:26 left. With less than a minute remaining and the Leopards needing to score, Stein proved the best option as she streaked down the middle and finished past Bucknell goalie Jamie DeWitt to tie it at 15-15 and eventually send the game to extra time.

Junior Katie DeMarino won the draw in the extra session, but Lafayette couldn't get it done on the offensive end, forcing the defense to step up. After a couple crucial saves, the final tally just slipped past Lacy to finish it in a 16-15 defeat.

The loss drops the Maroon and White to 4-6 on the year overall and 0-3 in Patriot League action. Bucknell improves to 4-7 this season and 2-1 in conference play.
Lacy was excellent for most of the night, tying a career-high with 17 saves in defeat. DeWitt stopped 10 Leopard scoring attempts on the other side for her fourth win of the year.

Kirby and classmate Emma Novick each recorded hat tricks to lead the Leopards offensively, while Stein and Davey added a pair apiece and freshman Caroline Curnal scored the other marker. Stein, Novick and Cunningham each tallied assists and Curnal led the way on the defensive side with four caused turnovers.

Shots finished at 39-29 in favor of the Bison, but Lafayette held a 20-17 edge in ground balls. The Leopards also won at the circle, 18-15, but committed 19 turnovers compared to just 13 for the home side.

Next up for the Leopards is a return home on Saturday, hosting American at Fisher Stadium at 1 p.m.