ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. - The Lander Women's Lacrosse team dropped their first Gulf South game of the season on Saturday afternoon as they fell to the 11th-ranked Flagler Saints, 23-11, at the Flagler Lacrosse Field.
The Saints improved to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in Gulf South play while the Bearcats dropped to 5-6 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Only three Bearcats cracked the scoresheet, led by Emmy Peterson, who became the first Bearcat in program history to reach the 300-point milestone, with five goals. Izzy Olson added four of her own and Alyssa Suchan netted a pair of goals.
The Saints opened up a 4-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game before Olson gave Lander their first goal at the 8:10 mark. After Flagler restored the four-goal lead less than a minute later Peterson made it 5-2 with just under five to go in the quarter.
Flagler took advantage of a pair of Bearcat yellow cards to take a 7-2 lead in the early part of the second quarter but Peterson once again prevented a further Saints rally with her second of the game. However, the Saints scored three straight to open up a seven-goal lead. Olson netted her second of the game to temporarily stop the bleeding but Flagler scored three straight again to make it 13-4 going into the half.
The third quarter was Lander's most successful offensively as they scored five goals in the third 15 minutes but the Saints prevented any closing of the lead as they netted six to make it 19-9 at the end of three.
Peterson got her history-making goal off a free position with 13:58 left but the Saints once again went on another three-goal run to put the game out of reach. Peterson got her fifth goal and Lander's final with 3:53 left in the game.
The Bearcats continue Gulf South play next Sunday, April 7th as they travel to Cleveland, Tennessee to take on the Lee Flames.
