BETHANY, W. Va. - It took more than 60 minutes to decide Saturday's battle, but in the end we came up just short in an 8–7 overtime loss at Bethany.

The matchup had all the elements of a gritty road contest — momentum swings, standout individual performances, and clutch defensive stops — before a late goal in overtime sealed it for the home side.

Bethany struck first midway through the opening quarter, but we answered quickly and confidently. Alecia D'Urso buried a free-position shot to even the score, and Nicole Schroeder followed with another free-position finish to give us a 2–1 lead after one.

We carried that energy into the second quarter. D'Urso found the back of the net off a Madalynn Dembrowski assist, and Schroeder added her second goal of the afternoon to stretch our advantage to 4–1.

Bethany responded with a late second-quarter surge, scoring three times in a span of just over two minutes to even the contest at halftime.

The third quarter belonged to D'Urso.

She netted back-to-back goals — one assisted by Jaina Ilko and another from Dembrowski — to put us back in control at 6–4. D'Urso finished with five goals on 10 shots, leading our offensive effort throughout the afternoon.

Bethany trimmed the lead late in the third, but we entered the fourth holding a 6–5 edge.

Early in the final quarter, D'Urso struck again off another Ilko assist, giving us a 7–5 advantage with just over 11 minutes to play.

From there, the game tightened.

Bethany capitalized on two scoring opportunities to tie the game at 7–7, setting the stage for overtime. Despite strong defensive stretches and key saves from goalkeeper Julianna Hornikel — who recorded eight saves on the day — we couldn't break through in the extra session.

At the 4:49 mark of overtime, Bethany converted on an unassisted opportunity to secure the 8–7 win.

By the Numbers

• Alecia D'Urso: 5 goals, 8 shots on goal

• Nicole Schroeder: 2 goals

• Jaina Ilko & Madalynn Dembrowski: 2 assists each

• Julianna Hornikel: 8 saves

• Draw Controls: La Roche 12, Bethany 5

We matched Bethany with 19 shots apiece and controlled the draw circle throughout the afternoon, but turnovers and late defensive sequences ultimately proved costly.