CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Queens University of Charlotte women's lacrosse team, ranked No. 9 in the nation, fell 11-10 to No. 13 Limestone College in a top-notch battle. The Royals open their 2017 campaign at 0-1, while the Saints improve to 2-0 on the season.
 
The Royals were nearly perfect in offensive efficiency with limited opportunities, scoring on 10-of-11 on shots. The offense was powered by a team effort as Katie Wardle led with three goals and one assist. She was followed by Hanna Scott and Ally Blood who totaled two goals apiece, while Alexandra Bruder, Allison Conn, and Kelly Dowd each notched one goal.
 
After striking first at the 25:21 mark in the first half with a goal from Conn, Queens found themselves trailing 3-1 thanks to three straight goals from the Saints. Scott would find the back of the net on a feed from Wardle at 16:36 to put a pause in Limestone's run, and the two teams traded goals for the remainder of the half to give the game a 5-3 score at the break in Limestone's favor.
 
Queens got off to a hot start in the second half, scoring three consecutive goals to take a 6-5 lead. Blood netted two goals during the run. Soon after, a goal from Taylor Blick of Limestone would equalized things at 6-6. Queens answered with a pair of goals to move ahead, 8-6, but Limestone responded again with two scores, evening the score at 8-8 with 19:15 remaining. The back and forth affair continued with two more goals being put on the board to move the Royals ahead, 10-8, only to have the Saints find the back of the net twice more to knot things up at 10-10 with 6:31 left in regulation. Though the Royals battled through five minutes with strong defensive play, Limestone's Jaylene Schulte scored with 1:15 on the clock to give the Saints an 11-10 edging victory.
 
Though the Royals put all 11 of their shots on goal today, the Saints outshot Queens, 22-11. The Royals edged Limestone in ground balls, 19-17, but lost at the draw, 13-10. Christine Wiese and Chase Brokaw split time in the net today with Brokaw recording three saves.
 
Schulte led the Saints with three goals today, while Carleigh Davis totaled three assists to go along with two goals.
 
The Royals can be seen back in action on Friday, February 24 as they host No. 6 Rollins College. The game is set to begin at 4 p.m.