ASHLAND, OHIO - Despite trimming their deficit to just two goals after being down by as much as nine, the Daemen University women's lacrosse team fell to Ashland University, 20-12, in intercollegiate women's lacrosse action Monday afternoon at the Dwight Schar Athletic Complex/Ferguson Field.
With the win, the Eagles moved back to .500 at 3-3 while the Wildcats fell to 2-3.
Senior midfielder
Cameron Briggs (Buffalo, N.Y.) led Daemen in goals with three while junior
Ella Bouley (Auburn, N.Y. ) provided a team-high four points. Junior attacker
Avery Castner (Penn Yan, N.Y.) helped pace the Daemen offense with three points of her own off two goals and an assist. Briggs also helped on the defensive side of the ball as she collected six ground balls and added in six draw control wins. Senior midfielder
Katelynn Deveans (Clinton, N.Y.) secured a season-high five ground balls, won four draw controls and caused a team-best three turnovers. In net, freshman
Molly Evans (Fulton, N.Y.) made 10 saves and nabbed five ground balls as well.
Tori Wanat led Ashland in scoring with seven goals and eight points while Rachel Crumbacher nabbed 10 draw control wins. In net, Annie Duncan stopped five shots to secure the victory.
Down 9-0 after the first quarter, Briggs first goal of the day ignited a short 3-0 spurt for the Wildcats to trim their deficit to just six, 9-3, with 6:33 remaining. The Eagles outscored Daemen, 3-2, over the remainder of the half to enter the locker room ahead, 12-5.
Out of the break, a man-up goal from Castner spurred another 3-0 run for the Wildcats that saw them cut the Eagles lead down to just four, 12-8, with 10:41 left in the third quarter. Ashland got a goal back from Wanat at the 9:27 mark, but the Wildcats kept the Eagles off the board for the remainder of the third stanza while adding two more goals of their own, courtesy of senior attacker
Olivia Wade (Eden, N.Y.) and Bouley, to enter the fourth quarter only down three, 13-10. Evans made three saves over the final 9:27 of the frame to keep the Eagles off the board as well.
The Daemen offense continued to hum at the start of the final stanza as Deveans found the back of the net for her sixth goal of the year and made it just a two goal game, 13-11, with 13:31 to play. That was as close as Daemen got however as the Eagles outscored Daemen, 7-1, the remainder of the way to prevent the comeback win.
Ashland ended the contest with a 37-25 advantage in shots but only held a slim 24-23 edge in ground balls. Daemen, however, completed 15 clears compared to 14 for Ashland.
GAME NOTES
• Today marked the second all-time meeting between Daemen and Ashland. The Eagles have won both prior meetings.
• Bouley is now 10 points away from becoming the first player in program history to secure 100 points.
• Briggs has recorded a hat trick in two of her last three games after her three goal performance today.
• The Wildcats five goals in the second and third quarters tie their season-high for goals in a quarter which was set on Feb. 28 against Lake Erie.
• Briggs five ground balls are tied for fifth all-time for ground balls in a game in program history.
UP NEXT
The 'Cats will conclude their three game road trip with a trip to Erie, Pa. to face Gannon. Opening draw is set for 1 p.m. on March 15.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter,
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