NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Southern Vermont College women's lacrosse team fell short Monday afternoon, losing 16-12 at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in non-conference action at Shewcraft Field.
The two sides played through raw conditions that included temperatures in the low 40's and wind gusts that reached up to 40 miles per hour at times. MCLA (4-7) used a strong stretch early on to take a lead as SVC was never ahead after being in front 1-0. Southern Vermont (3-7) stayed closed but could not overcome the close deficit, dropping its first of five games in a seven-day stretch.
SVC is back in action Tuesday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Johnson State College at Everett Field, and MCLA will next play its final home game of the season on Wednesday versus Fitchburg State University, also at 4 p.m.
Mountaineer sophomores Melodie Orrell (Gloucester, Mass.) and Emily Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.) each scored five times through the rain while freshmen Natalie Canterbury (New Hartford, Conn.) and Taylor Brewer (Bennington, Vt.) notched a goal apiece. Lesure added three ground balls and two draw controls, and Orrell had three ground balls to go with her team-high five draw controls. Brewer chipped in with another five draw controls and three ground balls while sophomore defender Lauren Nesshoever (Rutland, Vt.) scooped up a team-high five ground balls to go with a caused turnover.
SVC freshman goalkeeper Kesley Carrera (Queensbury, N.Y.) made 11 saves in the loss (3-7) while picking up three ground balls.
The Trailblazers got off to a hot start, jumping out 4-1 seven and a half minutes into the game. Four players scored early as MCLA took the lead, never trailing the rest of the way.
SVC quickly responded following a timeout and scored three unanswered goals to tie the game at 4-4; Lesure's second goal of the contest was sandwiched around a pair by Orrell during that spurt.
The game would follow that pattern throughout as MCLA would surge ahead but could never quite pull away as the Mountaineers would answer. The Trailblazers went on top 7-4 following the Southern Vermont run and would head into the break with a 10-7 lead.
Orrell got the first goal of the second half, cutting the hosts' lead to 10-8, but the Trailblazers then started to use their depth to hold a cushion. Two MCLA players each scored a pair of goals as the Trailblazers started to open the game up at 14-8.
However, back came the Mountaineers as they scored three goals in a 1:26 span and cut the lead in half at 14-11. Orrell added two more tallies while Brewer's goal cut the lead to three with 9:37 on the clock. MCLA started to play the possession game down the stretch, allowing SVC to score only once more while tacking up two of its own for the 16-12 final.