GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 15, 2022) – Thanks to the game-winning goal just over one minute into overtime by Jane Bailey, the Denison University women's lacrosse team earned a big 13-12 comeback victory over No. 14-ranked Catholic University on its home turf inside Deeds Field-Piper Stadium on Sunday during the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

It was the first ever meeting between Denison and Catholic, which entered the game coming off a 27-5 win over St. Mary's College in their NCAA First Round matchup at Denison on Saturday. In that game, Catholic set a new program record for goals scored in a single game and for largest margin of victory, and also set a new season-high with 40 points.

In Sunday's game, Catholic led 5-2 after the first quarter and 9-5 at halftime, but after just one goal by each team in the third quarter, it was clear Denison had a chance.

Helping shift the momentum toward Denison's favor before halftime was Josie Lucchesi, who scored back-to-back goals to bring the Big Red from down 9-3 to down by only four at the break.

The third quarter started with a goal by Abby Van Metre three minutes in to get Denison to within three at 9-6.

Then in the fourth quarter, Merrill Rollhaus and Casey McTague scored back-to-back goals to make it 10-8 with 13 minutes left to play, and then after Catholic answered another goal by McTague to go back ahead by three at 12-9 with eight minutes to go, it was all Denison from there on the scoreboard.

McTague won the ensuing draw control, and Rollhaus scored her second goal of the fourth quarter to make it 12-10 with 7:20 on the clock, and then Rollhaus assisted on another goal by Lucchesi to make it 12-11 with just under four minutes remaining.

With only 1:35 left in regulation, Lucchesi scored on a free position shot for her second stretch of back-to-back goals to close out a half in the game, but this time it tied it up at 12-12.

Then in the overtime, McTague won the draw control to give the first possession to Denison, and Bailey made it count as she converted to send Catholic home without getting a chance in the extra period.

Lucchesi would finish with four goals to lead all players while McTague also recorded a hat trick with three goals. Rollhaus finished with two goals and one assist while Bailey had two assists to go along with her game-winning tally.

Mary Daniel, a freshman from Wellesley, Massachusetts, scored her first career goal to make it 5-3 early in the second quarter. She also finished with two caused turnovers.

Ana Ortiz DeRosa finished with six draw controls while Kate Coward had four.

Helping to turn the tide defensively for Denson was Maeve Caldwell, who entered the game with her team trailing 9-4 with 6:42 to go in the second quarter and made six saves while only allowing three goals to give her squad a chance to comeback.

Denison improved to 12-6 overall and will advance to the NCAA Third Round (Sweet Sixteen), where they will play at No. 4 nationally-ranked Gettysburg College on Saturday, May 21. Gettysburg, which handed the Big Red a 14-7 loss in their season opener back on February 26, is currently 17-3 overall with 11 straight wins after defeating Roanoke 9-8 in overtime in their second-round game on Sunday. Gettysburg's only losses this season have come against teams ranked in the top-10 in NCAA Division III, and they are 8-3 overall on the year against ranked teams.