GAFFNEY, S.C. – Two hat tricks weren't enough for the Royals (7-6, 4-1 CC) as they fell 11-7 to No. 3 Limestone College (10-0, 4-0 CC) in a Division II women's lacrosse game on Saturday, April 2. The victory put the Saints in firm control of first place in Conference Carolinas ahead of Queens who picks up its first conference loss today.
Six minutes after the Saints jumped out to a 3-0 lead it would be the Royals turn for quick consecutive scores as Brittany Philip (Corning, N.Y., Corning East) notched a pair at 13:18 and 12:50 to pull Queens to within one, 3-2. That would be as close as Queens would get, however, as back-to-back scores by Brittany Howard of Limestone pushed the lead to 5-2. Following a goal by Caitlin O'Rourke ( Winter Springs, Fla., Winter Springs ) that cut it to a two-goal deficit, Chelsea Treat and Sarah Oor each found the back of the net to send the Saints to the break with a 7-3 advantage.
Limestone's Jessie Aguglia opened the final 30 minutes with a goal at 27:20 before O'Rourke matched her seven minutes later to make the score 8-4. From there, three straight goals by Racquel Prager, Oor and Howard put Limestone up 11-4 with 8:05 to play.
The Royals would cut the margin to 11-7 with three consecutive goals scored by Philip, O'Rourke and Emily Balmer (Damascus, Md., Damascus) trying to force a comeback, but Limestone's defense prevented any further offensive opportunities the rest of the way.
Brittany Philip and Caitlin O'Rourke produced the bulk of Queens' offense as they each finished with three goals apiece. Philip added four draw controls and O'Rourke had two ground balls and a pair of draw controls. Emily Balmer added the only other score of the day for the Royals. Shannon Casey (Bel Air, Md., John Carroll) finished the day leading all players with five assists. Chelsea Lancashire (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., Nease) took the loss in net as she allowed all 11 goals and made seven saves in 60 minutes of action.
Brittany Howard led the way for Limestone with three goals as the Saints also got two goals apiece from Chelsea Treat, Racquel Prager and Sarah Oor to lead the offensive attack. Prager added an assist and three draw controls while Treat had a team-high four ground balls and two draw controls. Jessie Aguglia and Jessica Aguanno each added a solo score to cap the Saints scoring. Sophomore goalkeeper Rashelle McLellan earned her 10th straight victory with a five save performance in 60 minutes of play.
The Royals are back in action against Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. on Tuesday, April 6th at 6 pm.
