SMITHFIELD, R.I.- The Lafayette women's lacrosse team cut down an eight-goal first-half deficit on Saturday afternoon, chasing Bryant to the final minutes in a 17-14 defeat.

Junior midfielder Abby Romano led the Maroon and White with four goals and an assist for five points.

Bryant's Chamberlaine Bell took the first goal of the contest at 12:33. Senior attacker Genevieve Strobel retaliated three eminutes later to tie the game.

The Bulldogs found their second score at 6:39 and third at 2:58 for a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bryant continued the scoring streak through the start of the second session, netting shots at 14:08 and 11:49.

Senior midfielder Katie Chiasson ended the drought at 11:09. The Pelham, N.H. native was quickly followed up by a goal from Romano at 10:53, still trailing 5-3. The Bulldogs added six more tallies for an 11-3 advantage at halftime.

In the third quarter, Bryant's Emily Oliver struck first at 11:23. Sophomore Sophia Spallone netted her first goal of the season at 10:47 with another Romano follow-up at 9:25.

The Leopards went on a 3-0 run after a Bryant goal at 6:39 to minimize the margin to 13-8. Scores came from Strobel (5:07), Romano (4:09) and Chiasson (3:16). The Bulldogs led 14-8 with one period left to play.

Chiasson and Strobel also completed a hat trick this afternoon, with each athlete of the senior duo finding the net once more in the fourth quarter. Sarah Bennett netted her first of the game at the 6:34 mark as the Leopards trailed 17-11.

Chiasson, Romano and Spallone had last-minute efforts on offense, totaling eight goals between them in today's matchup.

The Leopards held the advantage in draw controls (22-13) and shots (38-34). Bryant had a 25-16 margin for ground balls and went 2-for-5 in free-position shots.

Lafayette's junior goalkeeper Lexie Coldiron made eight saves on 26 shots faced. Bryant goalies Sam Centofante (9) and Ashlyn Watkins (3) teamed up for 12 saves.

The Leopards host Binghamton on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. for the Morgan's Message game.