TAMPA, Fla. - The Lynn University women's lacrosse team is moving on in the 2025 NCAA South Regional after defeating No. 5-seed Flagler in a 16-15 nail-biter, Thursday afternoon. The Blue and White were led by a relentless offensive attack that featured three Fighting Knights scoring four goals in the win including Kristyn Johnson, Rebecca Clark and Hannah Exley.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Flagler opened scoring early, striking twice for a quick 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of play
- The Fighting Knights answered back at the 10 minute mark as Rebecca Clark found Elizabeth Clagett for Lynn's first goal of the afternoon, 2-1
- A few minutes later, Kristyn Johnson evened up the contest at 2-2 on a man-up goal
- The Saints went on to take the lead on two unanswered goals to go up 4-2 with the clock winding down in the first quarter
- With 1:30 left in the opening period, Lynn struck twice on goals from Clark and Clagett to even things up a 4-4
- Clark found Johnson for a last second goal to close out the first quarter and give the Blue and White its first lead of the day at 5-4
- Flagler took the lead on two consecutive goals at the beginning of the second period to take a one goal lead, 6-5
- Hannah Connors responded with an unassisted goal at the 7:45 mark to knot the game up at 6-6
- Just one minute later, Hannah Exley found the back of the net on a feed from Olivia Fox to give Lynn the lead once again, 7-6
- The Saints quickly responded to even the contest up at 7-7 before Johnson struck for her third goal of the afternoon to put Lynn up at 8-7
- With halftime lurking around the corner, Flagler tied the game up again at 8-8 with three minutes left in the half
- The Blue and White offense put together one final possession in the last minute of the second quarter that resulted in Clark scoring on a goal from Clagett to take the lead heading into the half, 9-8
- Flagler opened the second half with a quick goal to tie the contest up at 9-9 before the Fighting Knights responded with a pair of goals from Johnson and Exley to put Lynn up by two at 11-9
- The Saints made it a one score game around the half-way point of the third quarter, 11-10
- Clark closed out the third period with an unassisted goal to allow the Fighting Knights to maintain their two goal lead heading into the fourth quarter
- Flagler came out of the game hot in the fourth, scoring two rapid goals to tie the contest up yet again at 12-12
- Clark struck for her fourth goal of the game at the 10:57 mark of the fourth period, breaking the tie to put Lynn up 13-12 on a man-up goal
- The Saints snatched back the lead with a pair of goals to go up 14-13 with six minutes left in regulation
- Exley tallied her third goal of the day for a hat trick, tying the game up once again at 14-14
- The Blue and White quickly took advantage of a Flagler yellow card as Angelia Huggins and Exley gave Lynn back the lead on a pair of man-up goals with three minutes left in regulation, 16-14
- Lynn suffered a late yellow card that allowed Flagler to score on a man-up goal on a free position shot with 1:11 left to play, 16-15
- The Fighting Knights sealed the game on a draw control from Clagett that allowed the Blue and White to run out the clock and seal the opening round victory, 16-15
 
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- The game was a true back-and-forth affair with 10 total ties and 10 lead changes
- The Fighting Knights won the draw control battle 19-15, tallying nine in the second half compared to Flagler's six.
- Johnson, Clark and Exley all tallied four goals in the contest while Clagett added two, accounting for 14 of Lynn's 16 goals
- Clark also added a game-best five ground balls and a caused turnover, proving vital late in the matchup
- Defensive specialist Emily Solomon set the pace with seven draw controls while Clark added five and Clagett recorded four
- Goalie Ava Ceglia got the start in the net and was credited with her first postseason win while Lynn swapped in three total goalkeepers
 
UP NEXT:
- Lynn will move on to the next round of the regional to face the hosting No. 1 seed Tampa on Saturday May 10 at 3:00 p.m.