Denison Women's Lacrosse Falls in NCAA Quarterfinal

LANCASTER, PA - The No. 20-ranked Denison women's lacrosse team fell 16-13 to No. 6 Gettysburg in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Sunday, May 18. The Big Red mounted a determined fight against the Bullets, ultimately falling in a hard-fought contest that featured multiple scoring surges and a spirited late-game rally. Denison ends its impressive 2025 campaign with a 16-5 overall record.
 
GETTYSBURG 16, DENISON 13
  • Gettysburg jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead, but Denison answered with five of the next eight goals. Junior Mary Martinson (Concord, NH/Concord) got Denison on the board off an assist from classmate Grayson O’Marra (Bethesda, MD/Bethesda Chevy Chase), followed by O’Marra scoring one of her own to tie the game at 2-2. The Bullets would net two goals for the 4-2 lead. The Big Red would score three-consecutive goals off the sticks of sophomore Sophie Davenport (Chatham Township, NJ/Chatham) and first-years Maddie Chase (The Moses Brown School) and MK Barnhart (The Hill School) to give Denison a 5-4 lead before Gettysburg tied it in the final seconds of the quarter.
  • The Big Red briefly reclaimed the lead at 6-5 with another Martinson goal assisted by O’Marra. Gettysburg responded with a four-goal burst to go up 9-6, but Denison stayed composed. Chase converted a free-position goal, and Martinson added another just before halftime to cut the deficit to 9-8 going into the break.
  • Gettysburg seized momentum early in the third, scoring six of the next seven goals, four of them while man-up, stretching their lead to 15-9. Denison’s lone response came from junior Bridget Sheehy (Pawleys Island, SC/Westminster), who scored off a feed from Barnhart. With 2:31 remaining in the third, Chase notched her third goal of the game on a free-position shot to keep Denison within reach, 15-10.
  • After almost 10 minutes of scoreless action to start the fourth quarter, Gettysburg netted another goal. Down by six, Denison refused to quit. Junior Sydney Lavin (Malvern, PA/Great Valley) sparked the fourth-quarter rally with an unassisted goal at 4:31, followed shortly by Davenport and Martinson, who each found the back of the net within a 40-second span to cut the lead to 16-13. Despite their late surge, the Big Red ran out of time.
  • Martinson led Denison with four goals, while Chase added three, and Davenport contributed two goals. The Big Red offense showed resilience against a top-tier opponent, and the late push showcased the Big Red’s depth.
  • Sophomore Julianne Henigan (South Orange, NJ/Columbia) and first-year Kaylyn Kirrane (Brookline) split time between the posts, with Henigan making three saves while allowing six goals and Kirrane recording eight saves and allowing 10 goals.

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