Friday’s opening 10 minutes were a nightmare for the Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team.

The fourth-seeded Skyhawks needed to play a perfect game in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Women’s Lacrosse Tournament opener to have any chance of beating top-seed and host Lindenwood University. Other than the first 10 minutes, they did. Unfortunately, the 7-0 hole Fort Lewis (8-6, 4-4 RMAC) fell into was too deep to get out of, and Lindenwood (15-2, 7-0 RMAC) prevailed 16-8.

In her last game as a Skyhawk, Ellie Carpenter scored two goals. Senior Sara McMahon and freshman Ryann Pierce also had two goals each. Pierce led FLC with eight shots, while Taylor Cabrera and Marissa DiCecco each recorded assists in the season-ending loss.

Lindenwood will play second-seed Regis in the championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Regis Rangers (15-2, 6-1 RMAC) defeated three-seed Colorado Mesa 12-8 in the other semifinal.

heraldsports@durangoherald.com