The AU women’s lacrosse team failed to take the lead once and fell 12-8 to the Holy Cross Crusaders in the Patriot League opener for both teams March 10 in Worcester, Mass.
Kimberly Collins, Emily Maher and Samantha Marshall each scored two goals for the Eagles (3-3, 0-1 PL), while Paige Lin and Bernadette Maher contributed one apiece.
Defensively, Laura Dawson led the way with four ground balls and Marshall caused a game-high three turnovers. Kaska Komosinski played the entire game in goal for AU and posted 11 saves.
Kayla DiBari and Taylor Zebrowski paced the Crusaders (2-4, 1-0 PL) with three goals each, while Sarah Weber picked up the win after adding seven saves in net.
Holy Cross took control right from the start, taking an early 2-0 lead just three minutes into the contest.
Sara Hennessey took advantage on a free position shot, and Laura Ryan quickly followed
with a goal of her own for the 2-0 Crusader lead.
Back-to-back goals from Marshall and Emily Maher tied the score at 2-2, and the game was knotted at 3-3 midway through the first half.
But that would be the last time AU would score for the next four minutes, and Holy Cross went on a 3-0 run that saw goals from DiBari, Zebrowski and Maddie Carrellas for a 6-3 lead.
With the Eagles trailing by three, Collins closed the half with a goal on a free position shot to put the score at 6-4 at halftime.
Bernadette Maher began the second half with a goal less than a minute in, but DiBari and Hennessey answered with consecutive goals to widen the Holy Cross lead to 8-5.
Zebrowski added another tally to the increasing Holy Cross advantage with 16:58 remaining.
Marshall and Emily Maher again proved to be a dynamic duo, putting together another string of back-to-back goals to pull AU to at 9-8 with 14:11 remaining.
The Eagles were unable to force a third tie though, and the Crusaders went on a key 3-0 run to cement the victory.
Holy Cross held a 16-9 advantage in ground balls, and outshot the Eagles 33-21 on the afternoon. AU also committed 13 turnovers, compared to eight from the Crusaders.
The Eagles will conclude their road trip March 13 against the No. 19 University of Massachusetts, before facing Colgate University March 17 in the Patriot League home opener at Jacobs Field.
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