PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Lake Erie College women's lacrosse team opened the 2018 season with a non-conference matchup with the Rock of Slippery Rock University on Sunday (March 4) afternoon at Jack Britt Memorial Stadium.

The Storm fell 18-13 in the first game of the season.

Slippery Rock scored first before the Storm rallied back with two straight goals. Taylor Mathis (Corning, N.Y. / Corning) and Anastasia Crawford (Corning, N.Y. / Corning Painted Post East) gave the Storm a 2-1 lead five minutes in. The Rock tied the game seconds later, then Cecilia Spin (Auburn, N.Y. / Auburn) scored to make it 3-2 Lake Erie with 23:39 left in the first half. Over the next 16 minutes, Slippery Rock scored eight goals as they took a 10-3 lead. Anna Spin (Auburn, N.Y. / Auburn) quickly followed with a goal that stopped the Slippery Rock run. The Rock scored with five minutes left in the first half, taking an 11-4 lead into halftime.

Slippery Rock scored the first two goals of the second half over the first five minutes. A. Spin scored her second goal of the afternoon with a free position shot two minutes later. The teams went back-and-forth over the next 13 minutes as Mathis scored two goals for the Storm. Within a minute span, Crawford and Meagan Maxwell (Hamburg, N.Y. / Hamburg) both scored on free position shots as Lake Erie cut the lead to 16-9. Lake Erie closed the deficit with a 4-1 run over the final eight minutes. Crawford added her third goal, Mathis scored her fourth and Riley Heffron (Livermore, Ca. / Granada) scored her first two goals of her career. The Storm's run was not enough as Slippery Rock won 18-13.

Mathis led the Storm with four goals while she picked up four groundballs. Crawford had three goals and two assists. A. Spin scored two goals with one assist and a team-high five draw controls. Heffron found the net twice along with four draw controls. Chloe Nottingham (New Westminster, B.C. / New Westminster Secondary) led the Storm with five groundballs.

The Storm will host Wheeling Jesuit on Thursday (March 8) at 7:00 PM.

-LEC-