PHILADELPHIA – A second-half rally wasn't quite enough as the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team fell to #14 Towson, 14-12, at Sweeney Field on Saturday afternoon.
Riley Evans notched a hat trick for the Hawks, while
Stephanie Kelly added four points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
• Towson (6-2) took the early lead through Blair Pearre, but a goal by
Bridget Cerciello tied things up with 21:36 to play in the first half.
• The Tigers then put together a 4-0 run over the next 11 minutes before Cerciello struck again to make it a 5-2 game with 5:51 to go in the half.
• The teams would trade goals, with Kelly and
Alyssa Manley scoring for SJU, but with the game at 7-4 heading into the closing minutes of the half, the visitors tallied twice to send the teams into the break with Towson on top, 9-4.
• Saint Joseph's (3-4) scored four of the first five goals of the second half to get back into the game. Kelly scored less than two minutes into the period before
Lauren Figura,
Sam McGee, and
Julia Pash scored three consecutive goals to make it a 10-8 game with 20:12 to go.
• Two Tiger goals doubled the margin, but that's when Evans went to work, scoring all three of her goals – the last two assisted by Pash – in a span of less than two minutes to bring the Hawks back within a goal at 12-11.
• Neither team would find the net for nearly nine minutes until Lindsey Marshall tallied for Towson with 3:48 to play. Figura answered just as the clock ticked below two minutes, but Pearre would grab her fifth and final goal of the day with 52 seconds remaining to seal the win.
BEHIND THE BOX SCORE
• Pearre had a game-high five goals, while she and Marshall bagged five points apiece. Marshall also grabbed eight draw controls to lead all players, while Pearre added seven.
• Kelly tallied two goals and two assists for four points to lead SJU; Evans and Pash totaled three apiece. Pash also scooped up four draws.
• Both SJU's
Melissa Semkiw and Towson's Carly Merlo made 11 saves on the day between the pipes.
• The Hawks edged out the Tigers in the shot department, 32-30.
UP NEXT
The Hawks turn their attention to conference play, as they host La Salle in their Atlantic 10 opener on Friday, March 26, at 4:00 p.m.
