NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Washington & Jefferson women's lacrosse battled Westminster to the bitter end in tonight's PAC showdown, but was unable to secure the win in a 7-6 W&J loss in overtime.
 
Tonight's match featured the only two teams in the conference that owned perfect 2-0 records. With the loss, the Presidents drop to 2-1 in the PAC and 4-7 overall. The Titans improve to 8-2 and 3-0 in the PAC.
 
Despite scoring the first goal of the game, an unassisted strike from Alexis Miller (Carlisle, Pa./Cumberland Valley) with 23:09 on the clock, W&J found itself down, 4-1, at the halftime break.
 
The Presidents immediately found their footing in the second half, scoring the first four goals of the stanza to go up 5-4. Jenna Allen (Sanford, Fla./Seminole) scored twice over the stretch, while Rae LaRochelle (East Sandwich, Mass./Sandwich) tallied one goal and dished out a pair of assists.
 
Following two straight goals by Westminster, W&J trailed 6-5 with 2:41 left in the game. After securing the ball following a missed Titans' free-position attempt, Clara Sherwood (Indiana, Pa./Indiana Area) streaked down the field past defenders, earning a free position of her own with just 46 seconds remaining. Sherwood calmly found daylight past the opposing keeper to force overtime.
 
In OT, the Presidents secured the first possession, but were unable to get a shot off against the tough Westminster defense. The Titans turned that defense into offense, capitalizing on their first possession of overtime to pick up the 7-6 win.
 
Both teams tonight were relatively evenly matched, as many of the statistical totals were within five. W&J owned advantages in draw controls, 7-4, and saves, 10-9.
 
LaRochelle paced the Red & Black tonight with three points on one goal and two assists.  LaRochelle leads the Presidents and is third in the PAC this season with 38 goals.
 
Allen posted a season-high with two goals against the Titans. Sherwood, Miller and Sofiya Bobrovnikova (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) rounded out the Red & Black's goal scorers.
 
In goal, Sara Maute (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J Roberts) played all 61:55 and made 10 saves. With tonight's impressive showing, Maute now leads the conference in both goals-against average (10.56) and save percentage (.520).
 
The Presidents return to action on Saturday, April 13, for a 12:00 p.m. home tilt against Franciscan.