The Oglethorpe women's lacrosse team came from six goals down to tie the home-standing Hendrix Warriors with just 30 seconds to go Saturday night in Conway, Ark., but Hendrix scored on a free position shot with nine seconds left to secure the 17-16 victory over the Stormy Petrels.

The Petrels trailed by six goals multiple times in the second half of the game and still found themselves behind by that margin with just over 10 minutes to go, 16-10. However, the Petrels stormed back with six consecutive goals over the next 9:30, all of them coming from different people, and tied the game at 16-16 with 32 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the Hendrix free position goal with nine seconds left turned the final result back in the Warriors' favor.

The Petrels outplayed Hendrix for large stretches, outshooting them 42-31 and scooping 39 ground balls to their opponents' 20. Hendrix, on the other hand, secured 22 draw controls to Oglethorpe's 13, was 8-for-13 on clear attempts to the Petrels' 8-for-21, and converted on 7-of-10 free position shots to Oglethorpe's 3-for-10 in that department. The Hendrix goalie made 15 saves while Oglethorpe goalies made nine. 

The Petrels got six goals from junior midfielder Sydney Sparks, who put eight of her 12 shots on target. She scooped four ground balls, as well. Meanwhle, fellow junior midfielder Michelle Vasques and freshman midfielder Madison Coffey scored three goals apiece for the Petrels. Vasques put six of her eight shots on goal, scooped 11 ground balls, caused seven Hendrix turnovers, and secured five draw controls. Coffey put all four of her shots on goal and scooped five ground balls. Sophomore attacker Kellen Flatt put seven of her nine shots on target, scoring a goal, scooping six ground balls and securing four draw controls. Freshman goalie Chantel Jones made nine saves before having to leave the game with an injury late in the second half.

The Petrels took a 3-1 lead early on, scoring three straight off the sticks of Sparks and Coffey. Hendrix scored nine of the period's final 10 goals, however, building a 10-4 lead by halftime. A Sparks goal with 12:28 remaining in the half was the lone Oglethorpe tally.

The Petrels answered in a big way during the second half, though, outscoring the Warriors 12-7 over the course of the period. For awhile, though, it didn't look like the Petrels were making up much ground. A Coffey goal brought the Petrels to within five, but Hendrix answered to take their lead back to six. Back-to-back goals by Vasques and junior defender Tate Davis were answered by back-to-back Hendrix goals, and the same thing happened again off consecutive Sparks goals. A Vasques goal with 14:04 left was answered again with 10:24 left, pushing the lead back out to six again. However, the Petrels started their six-goal run from that point, getting goals from Flatt, Sparks, Coffey, Davis and Vasques, leading up to junior attacker Xenia Perry tying the game on a free position goal with 32 seconds left.

"We had a slow start in the first half and were lacking in focus," said Head Coach Marissa Giannerini. "We just were not playing as a cohesive unit. Our game picked up in the second half and we slowly kept chipping away to close the gap. Halfway through the second half, we had a game-changing injury which left us without Chantel, our goalie. This ignited a fire in the team and instead of folding, they dug deep and fought back to tie the game. Yes, we lost with nine seconds left on the clock, but today we learned what we are capable of."

The Petrels fall to 1-3 on the season, 0-3 in SAA play, and will now return home for back-to-back games Monday and Tuesday evenings at the Oglethorpe Track and Field. They'll take on Division II West Virginia Wesleyan at 6 p.m. Monday before welcoming in Illinois Wesleyan at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.