TOWN AND COUNTRY – University of Indianapolis leading scorer Joey Fowler had been shut out, and the reasons why were circulating in her mind.
“The whole game I was struggling getting the ball in the net, and it was kind of getting in my head,” Fowler said.
But with the game against Maryville tied in the final minute, she uncorked the perfect shot.
Fowler scored the game-winning goal with 11.8 seconds remaining to propel UIndy to a 15-14 victory over Maryville in a Great Lakes Valley Conference women’s lacrosse thriller Saturday at Maryville Athletic Complex.
In the first meeting of ranked teams ever played at Maryville, No. 6 Indianapolis (12-2), the defending Division II national champion, defeated No. 19 Maryville for the fifth consecutive time. UIndy won the previous four meetings by a combined score of 101-4.
Leading 13-10 late in the third quarter Maryville (13-1) had a woman-advantage situation and the leading scorer in the nation, Sydney Tiemann, set to take a free position shot.
But a spectacular save by UIndy goalkeeper Audrey Moran denied Tiemann, and moments later, Amy Vegh scored as penalty time expired to slice the deficit to two goals heading into the fourth quarter.
It was the first of three free-position denials for Moran against Tiemann over the final 20 minutes of the game.
“Honestly, it’s all the defense. Even the ones that went in, they were getting their sticks out. I knew it was going to take a little time to get used to it,” Moran said. “Once the defense plays well, my job is easy.”
The save-to-goal moment changed momentum and pushed UIndy to score the first three goals of the fourth quarter. When midfielder Jess Soenen found an alley down the right side of the defense, the Greyhounds took a 14-13 lead with 6:51 remaining.
Soenen led UIndy with four goals, each coming from a drive down the right side of the formation.
“I think that’s just how it broke down. Our attackers are versatile, and sometimes they do different things that surprise even me,” UIndy coach Elaine Jones said. “They did a great job with handling the pressure and executing to pull ahead.”
But Maryville had its own talented offensive player who had been held scoreless throughout the game and was ready to make a statement.
Pattonville High alum Helen Bae, who clanged the crossbar on her first shot of the day and was thwarted by Moran on three free position opportunities, stood at the 8-meter spot once again with 3 minutes 18 seconds remaining.
“It wasn’t my best shooting day and I was in my head a little bit, but I looked over at my coaches and they gave me the thumbs up,” Bae said. “It gave me confidence, and I did what I needed to do.”
Bae’s well-placed shot tied the game at 14, and Maryville senior Katie Von Mecklenburg almost gave the Saints the lead when her free position shot rang off the crossbar, but Indy scooped the ground ball and called a timeout.
After 40 seconds of possession, Fowler cut down the right side, received a pass from behind the net and fired a low shot that hit the far post and ricocheted into the goal.
“In the last 40 seconds, I realized that I needed to step up for my teammates because they stepped up when I was down.” Fowler said. “I put my heart all out there and hammered it bottom-left.”
An Indianapolis triple-team did not prevent Tiemann from unleashing a shot in the final seconds, but the stick of Moran became its final destination.
Tiemann, who leads the nation with 6.25 goals per game, was the center of attention for the Indianapolis defense throughout the game. The Eureka High alum faced double-teams when she had the ball and the faceguarding defense of freshman Ella Pinkley when she did not.
Tiemann scored three goals, connected on passes to open teammates, communicated directions and created space for the talented Maryville attackers.
“I’m used to it. I either get out of the way, or I do my best to get my teammates open,” Tiemann said. “I didn’t really have the right answer, I just did the flow of what I felt I should be doing.”
Tiemann was one of five different goal scorers as Maryville took a 5-2 late in the first quarter.
“We really shared the ball the well,” Maryville coach Melissa Gyllenborg said. “All of our attackers are really capable. When one player gets locked off, it’s impressive that others are ready to step up.”
UIndy tied the game at 5, setting up a back-and-forth sequence where no team enjoyed a two-goal advantage until Von Mecklenburg scored on a free position shot to give Maryville an 11-9 lead.
“We expected it to be a physical, back-and-forth game,” Gyllenborg said. “They’re such a great program and have such a culture of winning. We knew it was going to be a big fight the whole time.”
The inability to pull away from the Saints began to frustrate UIndy.
“Honestly, I was really ticked off. We typically running-clock this team,” said Moran. “In the second quarter we pulled the defense in and said, ‘We have to want it. You can tell they want it, we have to want it more.”’
Goals by midfielder Jessie Hynes, who led Maryville with four goals, and sophomore Reagan Rukstad who added three more, put the Saints ahead 13-10.
But Moran stood tall, and the Greyhounds scored five of the final six goals, showing the pedigree of a championship team.
“Maryville is a well-coached team and they have great, athletic players. They are certainly well-deserving of their record,” Jones said.
The Saints, which won their first 13 games, knew that the game against UIndy would be their biggest test of the year to date. While the final outcome was disappointing, going toe-to-toe with a national power was exactly what they expected to happen.
“I know in the past Maryville was an easy win for a lot of higher-level teams, but we’re a force to be reckoned with,” said Summit High alum Ronnie Skorcz, who endured a 23-2 drubbing to UIndy last season.
Tiemann added, “We wanted to prove ourselves. We were preparing hard for (UIndy) and we were ready.”
