Mallards Fall to Sabres in Double OT

BERLIN- Worcester Prep’s girls’ varsity lacrosse team lost a heartbreaker to rival Saints Peter and Paul at home on Tuesday, falling to the Sabres, 12-11, in overtime after giving up a tying goal with seven seconds left at the end of regulation.

The two teams exchanged goals throughout the first half before the Mallards gained a little separation early in the second half. Worcester scored two goals within a minute of each other to take a 5-2 lead with just over 24 minutes left in the game. After the Sabres cut the lead to 5-3 with a goal at the 23:09 mark, Worcester pushed it back to three with a goal by Katelin Talbert on a penalty shot at 19:23.

The Sabres came right back and scored 20 seconds later on a fast break goal to cut the lead to 6-4, and pulled within one at 6-5 with 18:16 remaining. Worcester extended the lead again to two goals on a fast break shot of its own by Lilly DiNardo with just over 15 minutes left in the contest. Worcester’s Talbert scored on a beautiful assist by Erin Cook with just over eight minutes remaining, but the Sabres would claw their way back into the contest.

Saints Peter and Paul scored with seven minutes left to cut the lead to 8-6. Worcester became very deliberate on offense with a two-goal lead and the clock ticking down, but it couldn’t add to its lead. The Sabres scored with 4:35 remaining to cut the lead to 8-7 as Worcester tried to hand on. Worcester’s Skylar Siegfried made several big saves late in the game to preserve the Mallards’ lead, but Saints Peter and Paul kept getting more chances.

Worcester had the ball in its offensive end with under a minute remaining and a one-goal lead but could not close out the game. The Sabres got the ball with 23 seconds left and streaked down the field toward the Mallards’ goal. With just seven seconds left, Worcester was called for a penalty deep in its offensive end. Saints Peter and Paul converted the penalty shot to tie the game with practically no time left to send it into overtime.

Worcester scored first in the first five-minute overtime period on a goal by Cook to take a 9-8 lead just 45 seconds into the extra session. The Sabres tied the game again at the 3:09 mark in the first overtime period on a penalty shot to pull even at 9-9. Saints Peter and Paul took their first lead in a very long time in the contest with another goal with 1:45 remaining in the first overtime period, but the Mallards would respond.

Worcester’s Meredith Smith won the ensuing draw and streaked down the field before firing a hard shot in the upper corner of the Sabres goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 1:33 remaining in the first overtime period. After another big save by Siegfried, Smith scored again with just 16 seconds left in the first overtime period to put the Mallards back on top, 11-10.

Saints Peter and Paul got another chance, however, in a sequence eerily similar to the end of regulation. The Sabres were fouled deep in the Worcester defensive end with seven seconds remaining, but Siegfried came up with a big save to prevent another tying score. However, in girls’ lacrosse, two five-minute overtime sessions are played and the Sabres would find a way to win in the second extra session.

The Sabres scored with 4:08 left in the second overtime period to tie the game at 11-11, and went ahead for good with another goal with just over two minutes left in the contest. Worcester made a last ditch effort to tie the game as the clock wound down, but the Sabres held on for the dramatic 12-11 win.