Worcester, Mass. (March 21) -- Behind an overtime goal by senior Amy McNeil (Orange, Conn./Amity) with 30 seconds left in the period, the Assumption College women's lacrosse team improved to 6-1 overall with a 9-8 OT win over Merrimack on Saturday afternoon. The 6-1 start is the first for the team since 1998, which was the first season of the program.

Assumption jumped out to the 1-0 lead within seconds as junior Julianna Molloy (Guilford, Conn./Guilford) scored her fifth goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Quincy Wilkins (Wilbraham, Mass./Minnechaug). The Hounds extended the lead out to as many as four at 5-1 with 22:10 left in the first, powered by two goals each from junior Molly Brown (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Central) and sophomore Tori Russo (South Windsor, Conn./South Windsor).

The Warriors used two goals from Annette Ruggiero to close to within 6-4 at the break though, finishing on a 3-1 run over the rest of the half.

In the second half, Danielle Riley tallied her fifth goal of the season just 3:19 into the period, followed by back-to-back scores by Hunter McCarthy for the first Merrimack lead of the game at 7-6. After Brown completed her hat trick with 11:45 left for her 13th goal of the season to knot things at 7-7, Aubrie Stouffer put the Warriors back in front for the final time at 8-7. The Hounds went to McNeil in the stretch though as she tied the game at 8-8 with 1:10 left, heading into overtime for the third straight home game.

After a scoreless opening three-minute overtime, the game seemed to be headed into a second overtime before McNeil earned a free-position chance with 30 seconds remaining. She finished off the win though with her 19th goal of the season and second of the game, lifting the Hounds to the 9-8 win.

Brown finished with the hat trick, along with two goals each from Russo and McNeil and a goal and an assist by Wilkins. McCarthy led the Warriors with a three-goal, one-assist effort in the loss.

Sophomore Jaclyn Chirco (Hopkinton, Mass./Hopkinton) made five saves in the win, while Alexa Petzold had eight saves in the defeat.

As a team, the Hounds outshot the Warriors 26-19 while converting 12-of-17 clear attempts. The Hounds also held a 13-8 advantage in draw controls as freshman Meghan Cushing (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) finished with a team-high six draws for the day.

Assumption improved to 6-1 overall and 2-1 in Northeast-10 play, while Merrimack dropped to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the league.

The Hounds are back in action on Wednesday, March 25th as the team travels to Franklin Pierce for a 3 p.m. start in Rindge, N.H.

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