LOS ANGELES – The Presbyterian College lacrosse team mounted
a late comeback bid on Sunday in its neutral site game against the Fresno State
Bulldogs but could not overcome a second-half deficit, falling 17-14.
PC moves to 0-3 on the season returns home to host
Jacksonville in the team's home opener on Saturday, February 23. The opening
draw is slated for 1 p.m.
Down 15-8 early in the second half, the Blue Hose scored six
of the game's final eight goals in a frantic rally.
Catherine Ellis (Charlotte, N.C.) led all players with four
goals. Maddie Seiloff (Marietta, Ga.) and Lauren Lefeber (Waxhaw, N.C.) each
scored three goals, tying a career-high for the senior Lefeber. Seiloff's
scores marked the first of her collegiate career.
Kelsey Rupsch (Libertyville, Ill.) scored a pair of goals
while Allie Kyte (Placentia, Calif.) and Margaret Richardson (Maplewood, N.J.)
each found the back of the net as well. Kyte joined Seiloff as Blue Hose who
scored their first collegiate goals in the game.
Jaime Beamish (Memphis, Tenn.) notched two assists while
Bonnie Corrigan (Yorktown, Va.) and Melinda Vasconcellos (Waxhaw, N.C.) grabbed
a team-high three ground balls each.
PC raced out to a 2-0 lead on goals from Seiloff and Richardson,
who used a Liz Davis (Alpharetta, Ga.) pass to give the Blue Hose a
multiple-goal advantage.
Two Fresno State free position goals evened the score before
Ellis struck from the free position herself. The Bulldogs then found a pair of
goals to take their first lead of the day at 4-3.
Goalkeeper Bridget Hogan (Waxhaw, N.C.) made eight of her
nine saves in the first half.
The two teams swapped goals for game's next six scores, but
Fresno State closed strong by notching four straight heading to halftime ahead,
10-6. Lefeber scored twice and Ellis scored once during the back-and-forth run.
The Bulldogs kept up their scoring ways to start the second.
Three straight goals gave Fresno State a 13-6 lead at the 23:18 mark before
Ellis and Kyte took two of them back on assists from Richardson and Beamish.
Trailing by a 15-8 margin with 14:47 left, the Blue Hose answered.
Just 35 seconds after the Bulldogs' 15th goal, Lefeber beat Fresno
State's goalkeeper on a free position shot for her third of the day. Ellis
followed less than a minute later to narrow the gap to a five-goal deficit.
Fresno went back up by six, but PC rattled off the next
four goals. The run came on alternate goals from Rupsch and Seiloff, with three
scored from the free position.
Seiloff's last score cut PC's deficit to two with 2:13, but
the Bulldogs scored once more and held on for the win.
