SAVANNAH, Ga. - The Lander Women's Lacrosse team found themselves down by one after the first quarter but a 9-2 second quarter by the 12th-ranked Embry-Riddle Eagles was enough to provide them a cushion they would keep the rest of the game as they handed Lander a 23-12 loss in a neutral site non-conference game at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Georgia.
Lander drops to 2-2 on the season while Embry-Riddle improves to 4-0.
Alyssa Suchan (Leduc, Alberta, Canada) led the team with three goals, Mickey Burnett (Baltimore, Md.) and Izzy Olson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada) each added two, and Brooke Kelly (Bel Air, Md.), Emmy Peterson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Ella Benson (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Kasey Bronco (Mount Pleasant, S.C.), and Kylie Fragala (Atlanta, Ga.) added one goal a piece. Peterson also assisted on four goals as well.
Burnett broke the ice at the 9:53 mark in the first off the assist from Peterson but the Eagles responded with two straight to take a 2-1 lead. With just under two minutes left in the quarter, Peterson assisted Kelly to tie the game at two. However, the Eagles got a goal right before the quarter ended to take momentum into the second quarter.
Embry-Riddle took advantage of that momentum as they outscored the Bearcats 9-2 in the second with the Lander goals coming from Burnett and Olson. The 9-2 run gave the Eagles a 12-4 lead going into the break.
Lander started to crawl back into the game as they scored the first three goals of the second half off the sticks of Suchan, Olson, and Peterson to cut the lead to 12-7.
After Embry-Riddle made it 13-7, Fragala got her second goal of the year to make it 13-8. But the Eagles closed the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 18-10 lead to the final quarter.
A Benson goal saw Lander close the gap down to eight at 19-11 but the Eagles scored three straight goals to put the game out of reach for good.
The Bearcats return to action on Wednesday, February 28th as they travel to Gaffney to take on the Limestone Saints. That game is scheduled for a 4:00 PM first draw.
