EASTON, Pa. – A strong first half created the cushion Lafayette women's lacrosse needed on Saturday afternoon in the home opener at Fisher Stadium as the Leopards used a 9-2 advantage at the break to outlast Merrimack in an 11-8 home victory.
 
The Leopards jumped on the visitors early and often, scoring three times before Merrimack was able to record its first. Trailing 9-2 at the break, the Warriors showed resiliency, cutting the Lafayette lead to two with just over 12 minutes to play, but freshman Meghan McLachlan's second goal of the game with 3:07 remaining thwarted the comeback bid.
 
McLachlan led a balanced Lafayette attack with four points on two goals and two assists, the lone freshman in the starting lineup. Junior Anna Stein and sophomore Olivia Cunningham registered two goals apiece as well, while five other Leopards found the back of the net once.
 
The win keeps the Maroon and White unbeaten under first-year head coach Katie McConnell at 2-0 this season. Merrimack falls to 1-4 in defeat, playing its second game in as many days on the road.
 
Three straight unassisted tallies from the Leopards highlighted the game's first 10 minutes before Merrimack's Taylor Darrell broke momentum with a free-position marker. Three more goals made it six different goal-scorers for the Leopards to start the outing before Cunningham's second at 5:14 in the first made it 7-1. Senior co-captain Bella Alampi and classmate Katie McDonald closed the half as the seventh and eighth Leopards to get on the board and send it to the break at 9-2.
 
Merrimack started the second determined to get back in it, scoring the first four to make it 9-6 with 21:23 remaining. Stein's second stalled the run just over a minute later, but two from Merrimack's Olivia Colletti made it interesting down the stretch. The Warriors' eighth goal at 12:02 proved to be their last, however, as McLachlan's finisher closed out the scoring and time ran out on an 11-8 Lafayette victory.
 
Defensively, junior Courtney Scheetz made an impact with three caused turnovers and a ground ball, while DeMarino and Cunningham each added two caused turnovers apiece. Junior Colleen Bannon picked up four draw controls and classmate Mia Magarro was the groundball leader with three.
 
Shots finished at 39-21 in Lafayette's favor, forcing 15 saves from Merrimack net-minder Tammy Nguyen. Sophomore Quinn Lacy registered seven saves in her second winning effort of 2020.
 
Lafayette won at the circle, 13-8, and led in ground balls, 19-14. The Leopards also forced the Warriors into 19 turnovers while committing just 11.
 
The Maroon and White return to Fisher Stadium for their next contest on Wednesday, hosting Binghamton at 6 p.m.