DAVENPORT, Fla. --- The Moravian College women's lacrosse team led by two goals at halftime but the Greyhounds were unable to hold off NCAA Division II Shorter (Ga.) University, falling 17-14, in non-conference action in Florida.
Moravian, which is now 2-2 on the year, completed its Spring Break trip to the Orlando area with the match.
"Today was a tough loss for our team," commented Head Coach Kristen Nicholson. "Having the ability to keep the lead and finish out the game is something we'll be working on. Overall, Shorter was great competition for our program. I'm proud to be able to compete against strong Division II programs and as we continue to grow, we hope to come away with the win next time."
Sophomore midfielder/attack Jillian Picciuto led the Greyhounds with seven goals, tying her career high, to go with two assists. Freshman midfielder Liz Bill contributed three goals while sophomore attack Dalia Aguilar found the cage twice. Junior midfielder Alexis Kersten and sophomore attack Jessica Pisano both scored one goal in the match.
Sophomore goalie Kelley Gavin posted seven saves with a pair of ground balls while Kersten scooped up a team-high six ground balls to go with two draw controls. Freshman defender Allie Fisher and junior midfielder Kristen Baxter each had four ground balls with Baxter causing three turnovers. Junior attack Kyleigh McGovern and sophomore defender Jacqueline LaCava both contributed three ground balls and three caused turnovers while Bill and Fisher both had three draw controls. Picciuto tied another career high with nine draw controls to go with a pair of ground balls.
Shorter opened the scoring 1:10 into action before three straight goals by Picciuto has the Blue and Grey up 3-1 just over four minutes into the opening half. Shorter answered to tie the score before Bill and Aguilar made it a two-goal lead again for Moravian. Shorter knotted the score once again before Aguilar found the cage and Picciuto added two goals for an 8-5 lead with 2:11 left in the half. Shorter finished with one late goal to cut the Hounds' lead to 8-6 at the intermission.
Shorter scored again before Picciuto and Bill tallied for a 10-7 lead by the Greyhounds with 17:12 to play. Shorter answered with five straight goals to take its first lead of the match at 12-10; however, Kersten and Pisano scored as Moravian made it 12-12 with 11:39 to play. It took Shorter 34 seconds to retake the lead and start a stretch of four consecutive goals, moving ahead 16-12 with just under nine minutes to go. Bill and Picciuto each tallied one more goal but it wasn't enough for the Greyhounds.
Moravian is scheduled to continue its four-game road trip on Tuesday, March 14 in a non-conference contest at SUNY Purchase beginning at 7:00 p.m.
