The Stetson lacrosse team (0-5) scored a season high seven
goals, but came up short against Presbyterian (1-5) on Tuesday evening at the
Athletic Training Center. Freshman Mary
Kate O'Sullivan led the Hatters with two goals in the defeat.
There were a lot of positives to take away from the Hatters'
fifth contest in program history.
Stetson also tallied season bests with 24 shots and 10 draw controls,
and the Hatters were successful on 19 of 23 clear attempts.
As has been the case all season, Stetson came out fired up
and ready to play. Like many times in
2013, the Hatters scored the first goal of the game. This time it was freshman
Kelsey Gilbert netting an unassisted goal less than five minutes in to give
Stetson an early 1-0 lead.
After Presbyterian scored three to hold a 3-1 advantage just
under seven minutes later, Stetson countered with O'Sullivan's first score of
the game. Freshman Danielle Horgan
assisted the midfielder on the play to make it 3-2 with 17:23 to play in the
first half.
The Blue Hose's fourth and fifth goals came within a minute
of each other and put the momentum back in Presbyterian's favor before
sophomore Samantha Akl found freshman Paige Levesque in front of the goal for a
score. Levesque's team-leading fourth
goal of the season made it 5-3 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
Presbyterian ended the first period with a pair of scores,
and opened up the second when Catherine Ellis tallied her second of four goals
on the night. Freshman Maylis Broderick
fought to keep the Hatters in it, scoring unassisted to make it 8-4 less than
three minutes into the second frame.
The Blue Hose used a 6-0 run to take a commanding 14-4 lead
with 18:25 to play, but there was no quit in the Hatters. Akl scored unassisted, and freshman Rachel
Dumas scored on a free position to cut the deficit to eight.
O'Sullivan scored her second goal of the game with 3:34 to
play, but it wasn't enough as Presbyterian cruised to the 17-7 victory. It was the first win of the season for the
Blue Hose.
Presbyterian outshot Stetson 40-24, but only recorded four
more ground balls than the Hatters, 21-17.
The Blue Hose won 16 draws compared to Stetson's 10, but committed 45
fouls to Stetson's 16. The Hatters
turned it over 21 times, while Presby gave it away just 14 times.
Freshman Noelle Morabito finished with four ground balls,
while O'Sullivan added three in the defeat.
Broderick, Levesque, and O'Sullivan each recorded two draw
controls. Freshman Whitney Meyers finished
with 12 saves in 42 minutes in goal, while freshman Caili Cuilday totaled four
stops in 18 minutes.
Stetson will next welcome Campbell to the Athletic Training
Center for the Hatters sixth straight home contest. The first draw is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
