(box score)
Widener's three-goal outburst in the first two minutes did not carry over the rest of the game as it was dealt a 10-8 loss by Lycoming in the first round of the Middle Atlantic Conference Tournament at Edith R. Dixon Field.
The fourth-seeded Pride (11-7) looked it great shape with three quick goals, two from sophomore Rachel Porter (Medford, NJ) and one from junior Calina Walz (Medford, NJ), for a 3-0 cushion. The fifth-seeded Lady Warriors (10-7) battled back with three straight of their own from Amanda Baker, Brooke Strausser and Grace Gargiulo for a 3-3 tie.
Widener got the three-goal margin back in just over a four-minute span for a 6-3 lead with 1:21 left that it carried into halftime. Senior Jackie Elliott (Upper Darby, PA) netted two in the run and freshman Julia Costello (Brookhaven, PA) had one.
The teams traded a pair of goals in the first 13 1/2 minutes of the second half for an 8-5 Widener lead. Porter and junior Mellany Broomall (Clarksboro, NJ) scored for the Pride with Baker and Justine Titko doing likewise for the Lady Warriors.
But Lycoming took over from there with the last five. Sammi Jo Bell, Baker and Gargiulo scored in a 7 1/2-minute span for an 8-8 tie with 6:59 remaining. Baker's fourth goal gave the Lady Warriors their first lead with 5:02 to play and, with the Pride putting on pressure up top, Titko netted the finale with 2:32 left.
Porter's hat trick was her 12th of the season and fourth in five games. Sophomore Linda Salcedo (Media, PA) ended with eight saves.
Elliott finished the season with a school-record 76 goals, breaking her own mark of 71 from last year, and her standout career ends with 201 goals that are second in Widener annals.
Brittany Bryan closed with seven saves for Lycoming, which advances to face either Elizabethtown or Messiah in the MAC semifinals.
Widener was making its first conference tournament appearance since 2005, the last time it hosted a game in this tournament. The Pride failed to break the school record for most wins, which it set during in 2003 (11-5).
