All else being even, a small change can tip the scales.
The Fort Lewis College women’s lacrosse team experienced that in a 9-6 loss to Saint Leo University on Thursday in Saint Leo, Fla.
FLC (5-4, 2-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) played the Lions to a dead heat in most statistical categories, but Saint Leo (6-5) put three more shots on goal than the Skyhawks.
Three more balls found the back of the net for the Lions, leading to their winning margin.
“It was a tight game. They were really good at capitalizing on our mistakes,” FLC head coach Kelsey MacDonald said. “We made a lot more mistakes in the second half.”
The Lions led 4-2 at halftime before FLC’s Jessica Norby brought the Skyhawks within one less than three minutes into the second half.
Saint Leo scored three unanswered goals after that to seal the victory.
Norby led the Skyhawks with two goals and two assists.
Four other Skyhawks found the back of the net.
FLC goalkeeper and Durango High School alumna Alyssa Spencer and Saint Leo goalkeeper Brittany Millsap both made nine saves.
Both teams shot the ball 21 times.
“They capitalized on their shots where we hit the pipe or shot at the keeper,” MacDonald said.
The Skyhawks won the draw control battle 9-8.
Saint Leo picked up 22 groundballs compared to 21 by FLC.
Kelsey Burns scored a hat trick to lead Saint Leo in scoring.
FLC fell to 0-2 on its spring break trip to Florida after losing 16-6 at No. 5 Florida Southern College on Monday.
The Skyhawks scored 12 total goals on the trip, which is less than they had scored in their five wins this season.
“I don’t think we played to our potential at all. We killed ourselves at times,” MacDonald said. “We kind of have to go back to the drawing board and re-evaluate – go back to the basics.”
FLC returns home and to RMAC play at 1 p.m. April 5 at Ray Dennison Memorial Field against Regis.
“I think we’ll be excited to have a couple days off because that’s what we need right now. We’ve been going for 13 days straight,” MacDonald said. “Once we get back on the field we’ll be excited to start preparing for Regis. I know the girls want to be successful against them, so I think that will push us to be successful.”
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