AKRON, Ohio – Joining the party a bit later than most others, the Presbyterian College lacrosse team unscrewed the lid on a new season Thursday night in the middle of snowy Ohio, dropping a 15-5 decision to the Kent State Golden Flashes at a neutral indoor facility to avoid the harsh weather.

Although senior Willow Hammond published her 85^th career goal with two minutes left in the first frame to tie up the tally, PC was unable to slow a 12-1 run from KSU as they were held to a pair of scores in the second half.

Kent State grinded things out as the margin continued to increase, holding a 7-3 edge at the midway point and ultimately winning by 10.

The Blue Hose continue their two-game excursion in the Midwest on Saturday afternoon against the Akron Zips, part of a season-starting three-game stretch versus teams from the MAC.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
- Emma Claire Mills needed just 52 seconds to provide Presby with their first goal of the new campaign, capitalizing on a free-position chance to catch Kent off-guard (one of two FP scores from the Scotsmen).

- However, the board quickly read 1-1 less than a minute later as KSU's Lizzie Lundeen gained her first of five goals on the evening.

- PC's next score from Hammond's hands was also quickly reciprocated from the home side, answering only 27 seconds after (1:33 left in quarter number one). Kent would never trail again until they reached the finish line.

- The Golden Flashes outgunned the Blue Hose 8-1 over the next two periods, putting head coach Eric Clakeley's group in an 11-3 hole with just 15 minutes on the clock.

- Alyssa Perez logged her second goal of the night in the final frame, as did freshman Emily Currie with 4:44 remaining to denote her first collegiate strike.

- Junior Kayleigh Aitken was named PC's starter in the goalie's box for the first of nine non-conference matchups, saving six shots before rookie Morgan Thompson closed the contest in the 4^th.

- Preseason All-Big South member Avery West – the team's leader in both caused turnovers and ground balls last year – obtained two of the former and three of the latter.

- Kent State was able to win the shot-on-goal battle by ten (21-11) which coincidentally was also the margin of victory in the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools.


 
UP NEXT
 
- Coach Clakeley's group will aim to right the wrongs from Thursday's setback against Akron in 48 hours, looking to slow the momentum of an opponent who has won their last two bouts over St. Francis and Xavier by a combined clip of 26-10.

- Once the Ohio trip has ended, the Blue Hose will prepare for a six-game homestand starting on February 25. That's the longest sequence of home-only games for the program since the 2007 season.