FINDLAY, Ohio -- The Lake Erie women's lacrosse team battled hard against the Findlay Oilers on Sunday afternoon, ultimately falling in another close contest by a score of 8-6. After leading at halftime for just the second time all season, the Storm entered the fourth quarter down two. Back-to-back goals tied things up at six in the closing minutes, but Findlay finished strong to seal the win and drop Lake Erie's record to 1-13. With three games remaining, the Storm will look to find their rhythm and end the season with momentum.

Game Recap

Findlay struck first as their leading scorer put the Oilers up 1-0 at the 12:39 mark in the opening period. Lake Erie responded after three shots were saved early, finally breaking through when Madelyn Goodrich buried a shot to tie the game at one heading into the second quarter.

Lake Erie came out hot in the second, as Brooke McNeal and Goodrich scored in quick succession to give the Storm a 3-1 advantage. But the Oilers quickly responded, tying the game again before Goodrich completed her hat trick just before halftime, giving the Storm a 4-3 edge at the break.

The third period proved costly for Lake Erie, as Findlay rattled off three unanswered goals to take a 6-4 lead. However, the Storm showed fight in the fourth—McNeal and Goodrich each scored again to tie the game with most of the quarter still to play. Unfortunately, the offense stalled, and Findlay capitalized with two late goals to defend home turf and come away with the win.

Player Notes

• Madelyn Goodrich scored four more goals, bringing her season total to 32. She now has 12 goals in her last three games and is chasing her career-best mark of 38 from last season.

• Brooke McNeal added two goals, giving her 40 on the year—third-most in the conference. She has scored in every single game this season.

• Isabella Morales and Shannon Smith led the team with six ground balls each. Smith tops the G-MAC in the category with 63 on the season.

• Smith also caused five of the team's nine turnovers and now leads the Storm with 30 caused turnovers, ranking fourth in the conference.

• Reese Friesen (4), Lainey Davis (2), and McNeal (2) led the team in draw controls.

• Avery Artino played the full game in goal, recording seven saves.

Team Notes

• A season-long theme continued as Lake Erie was outshot 26-18 but still managed more shots on goal than Findlay (16-12).

• The Oilers narrowly won the draw control battle (9-8) and committed one fewer turnover (21-22).

• Lake Erie held the edge in ground balls (26-21), but Findlay was more efficient on clears (13-of-17 vs. 15-of-27).

The Matchup

Sunday's loss puts the all-time record at 6-11 in favor of the Oilers. Findlay has won the past seven matchups. 

Looking Ahead

The Storm stay on the road and travel to Edinboro for a 4:30 p.m. matchup on Wednesday, April 9. The Fighting Scots opened their season with a win over Coker University but have since dropped nine straight. Lake Erie will look to extend their three-game win streak over Edinboro and focus on containing Rylee Jones, who leads the Scots in both goals and assists.