RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls women's lacrosse team lost its 2025 home opener against Aurora at Ramer Field on Friday, March 14.
The game was neck-and-neck overall, as the Falcons held a narrow 19-18 advantage in shots on goal. Ultimately, a 5-2 goal advantage in the fourth period by Aurora allowed the Spartans to erase early UWRF's lead, as the Falcons went on to fall in double overtime. The loss dropped UW-River Falls' record to 2-2.
In the first half, the Falcons built an 8-4 advantage behind two goals each from Samantha Hayek, Kylah Link, and Brooke Glumack. Each team took turns scoring goals until the game was tied at 3-3, before UWRF narrowly pulled away to lead 5-3 after the first period. The Falcons capitalized off a 3-1 second period, extending the lead to 8-4 at halftime. After Aurora pulled within 6-4, UWRF scored back-to-back goals to pull ahead by four goals at the break.
The third period was the least offensive frame of the game, as Aurora outscored River Falls 2-1, giving the Falcons a 9-6 lead going into the final quarter.
Aurora held a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal in the fourth quarter, leading to five goals compared to two for UWRF. The Falcons led 10-8 with 8:56 remaining in regulation, but Aurora managed three straight goals during a stretch of just over two minutes midway through the period — this flipped the script to see the Spartans take a narrow one-goal lead. With the Falcons down 11-10 and time running out, Samantha Hayek scored a heroic goal off a free position shot that knotted the game at 11-11 with just 37 seconds remaining.
UWRF out shot Aurora 4-1 in the first overtime, but neither team managed to find the back of the net.
In the second overtime, Aurora's Olivia Dahlberg scored the game-winning goal with 2:01 remaining, ending a back-and-forth game.
Hayek and Link finished with a team-high three points each, with the points coming strictly off goals. Hayek also tallied a team-high 11 shots and five shots on goal. Murphi Spect led the way with two caused turnovers, five draw controls, and four ground balls — all three marks were team highs.
As a team, UWRF went 14-16 on clear attempts and finished with a 32-28 advantage in total shots and a 19-18 edge in shots on goal.
Up next, the Falcons are headed off to the West Coast to play three straight games in Oregon on March 18-20. UWRF will face Willamette, George Fox, and Lewis & Clark over the road trip.
