MOON TOWNSHIP– RMU women’s lacrosse looked to remain undefeated all-time in MAC play as the Colonials (4-4, 3-0 MAC) faced Central Michigan (4-4, 2-1).

It was a beautiful day at Joe Walton for women’s lacrosse as RMU won a nail-biter 17-16 against the Chippewas.

This game had a lot of hype as these were the top two MAC teams, who both came in undefeated in MAC play. Coach Katrina Silva noted the preparation of the team going into this game.

“Yesterday’s practice was really dialed-in and focused,” Silva said. “The team knows we’re still MAC champs until someone beats us. They know the pressure of that.”

The game started with goals from the players who dominated the entire game. Central Michigan’s goals came from the Hoyt twins, Kendall and Kelly, while RMU’s goals came from Jenna Irwin, who lead the team with 15 goals coming into the game, and Jordan Anderson.

The game was expected to be close and it was after the first 15 as Central Michigan was up one goal.

The game started going the Chippewas way in the second quarter as they went up by four goals on the back of Courtney Burke and Audrey Whiteside, who both finished the game with four.

The Colonials then scored two goals to go into halftime down by two.

In the third quarter, it was all in the Colonials’ control. They added six more goals to make it an 8-0 run. The goals came from Lilli Hadden, Jenna Irwin, Jordan Anderson, Colleen Tifft and Haylee Handrahan.

While the Colonials’ offense was cooking, so was the MAC Defensive Player of the Week Jamie Keller in the net. She made 13 saves in net on the day with some huge stops on tough free-position shots to keep the Colonials in the lead.

This game kept the fans at the Joe at the edge of their seat as the Chippewas began a comeback in the fourth quarter. After a goal apiece, they went on a 4-0 run and tied the game at 14.

The Colonials then had a run of their own as Obee, Anderson and Coleman scored to give the Colonials a late advantage. The Chippewas were not giving up without a fight, because only four seconds after Coleman’s goal, Audrey Whiteside scored for Central Michigan.

Whiteside would then score again to make it a one-goal game with 24 seconds remaining.

With only 24 ticks remaining, it came down to a faceoff for the Colonials to seal the deal. Madison Griffin gained the draw control and bring home the Colonials’ win.

After the close game, Coach Silva had some high praise for Central Michigan.

“We’ll probably see this team three times this season. It’s a bit of an unconventional lacrosse season, but we’ll play them at their place, and we’ll play them a third time. I think it’s hard to beat a team three times.”

The Colonials’ next game is Saturday as they will travel down to Baltimore to face UMBC at noon.