Box Score

EASTON, Pa. - The Lafayette women's lacrosse team held a 7-4 advantage at the break and a 9-6 lead with just over 15 minutes to play, but Monmouth stormed back with seven straight tallies to defeat the Leopards on Saturday evening at Fisher Stadium, 13-9.

Seemingly in control after scoring five of the last six goals to go into the break up three, Monmouth cut that edge to two at 7-6 early in the second half. Lafayette seemed to respond, though, as junior Kirsten Wilhelmsen and freshman Emma Novick linked up for a momentum-swinging transition score to push the lead back out to two.

A great individual effort from junior Amanda Case less than a minute later seemed to calm the nerves of a potential comeback, but the Hawks responded strong as three goals over the next four minutes tied it up at nine. With 5:33 to play, Ashley Cross finished an Alex Stambaugh feed to give the Hawks their first lead since 1-0 and that edge never evaporated as the visitors walked out with a 13-9 victory.

"I think we're still learning how to play with a lead. This group is really talented and they definitely can get out after teams," head coach Alison Fisher said. "The hard thing is when there aren't really any adjustments to be made other than to continue to force the pace and control the tempo. We gave up a run against Manhattan on Wednesday night and were able to recover. Tonight, we gave up a run and we just didn't have the same result."

With the loss, the Leopards drop to 1-1 on the year and Monmouth moves to 2-1 overall. Draw controls proved to be a major factor on Saturday night as the Hawks won five of the seven draws following Lafayette's ninth goal, its last of the game. Monmouth finished with a 15-9 edge on draws and a 28-24 advantage in shots. Ground balls were tied at 20 apiece and Monmouth converted on one of its two free-position chances compared to a 3-for-8 mark from the Maroon and White.

Novick and Wilhelmsen backed up a pair of six-goal performances in the win over Manhattan on Wednesday with another solid outing offensively, leading the Leopards with four points apiece. Novick posted three goals and an assist, while Wilhelmsen recorded two of each. One goal from each of senior Carlianne McCabe, junior Maggie Carver, Case and senior Charlotte Avallone rounded out the offensive production.

"Our strength offensively is really in our unit as a whole. All seven players can score points and significant points at that. When your second and third options are Amanda Case, Charlotte Avallone and Ashley Tedesco, it's really not a bad deal," Fisher added. "We didn't execute our system well in the second half. Kirsten and Emma are obviously talented and superior in what they do. Teams will get creative in how to shut them down, so our real strength will rely in others around them stepping up."

Lafayette will need to rebound quickly as the Leopards welcome Binghamton to Fisher Stadium on Tuesday. Opening draw is set for 7:30 p.m.