MACON, Ga. – Despite allowing only five goals in the second half, the UMass Lowell women's lacrosse team (1-5, 0-0 AE) fell to the Mercer Bears (3-1, 0-0 Big South) 16-11 on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm proud of our effort in the third and fourth quarter to close the gap," said head coach Lisa Miller. "I thought when we hit 13-9 we were going to flip it. We, the coaching staff, are still working to instill the confidence that we can compete and win against a team like Mercer that was in last year's NCAA tournament."
 
Graduate student Alex Salim (East Islip, N.Y.) recorded a program record 20 saves, giving her a .571 save percentage on 48 shots faced. Offensively, redshirt freshman Emily Stratton (Camillius, N.Y.) led the way for the River Hawks, tallying three goals while adding an assist. Junior's Molly Shaw (Marshfield, Mass), Izzy Liquori (Agawam, Mass) and Anna Bauter (Dexter, N.Y.) were right behind Stratton, all adding two goals of their own.
 
Mercer got on the scoreboard first, tallying back-to-back goals in the first four minutes of play to take a 2-0 lead. The River Hawks quickly battled back, as Bauter, Liquori, and Shaw all recorded a goal, giving UMass Lowell a 3-2 advantage midway through the first. The Bears retaliated with five straight goals, taking a 7-3 lead into the second quarter.
 
After allowing a goal two minutes into the quarter, the River Hawks put a stop to the Bears scoring run when Shaw launched a shot passed the goalie, off the assist from sophomore Megan Brockbank (Bayport, N.Y.). Mercer would tally three more goals before freshman Sophia Scialdone (Syracuse, N.Y.) got one passed the goalie, cutting the lead to 11-5 heading into the half.
 
Less than three minutes into the third, Stratton tallied her second goal of the game, cutting the deficit to five. The River Hawks continued to battle, putting on a strong defensive showing as they did not allow a goal for over ten minutes. With under five minutes remaining in the third, the Bears found the back of the net twice, extending the lead to seven. However, goals late in the third by Stratton and Liquori would make it a five-goal game heading into the final period.
 
In the fourth quarter, the River Hawks continued to battle as they tried to make a comeback. Goals by junior Grace Hansen (Stamford, Conn.), Stratton and Bauter would help cut into the lead throughout the fourth, but three Mercer goals would hold back the late River Hawks' charge.
 
The River Hawks will finish up their trip down south as they take on Wofford on Wednesday, March 9 at 1 p.m.