EDINBORO, Pennsylvania -- The Lake Erie women's lacrosse team battled fiercely against the Edinboro Fighting Scots on Wednesday afternoon, ultimately falling short in a 16-14 decision. The game was a testament to the teams' competitive spirit, with neither side managing to establish a lead of more than three goals. Despite scoring the opening goal, Lake Erie found themselves trailing for much of the game, fighting back to tie multiple times but never regaining the lead. With this loss, the Storm's record moves to 1-14, and they now set their sights on securing their first conference victory on Senior Day against Ursuline this Saturday.

Game Recap

Lake Erie jumped out early into the scoring column when Madelyn Goodrich fired off a shot just 73 seconds from the opening draw control for her 33rd goal of the season. From there, however, the Scots scored three straight before Reese Friesen stopped the bleeding to keep it at a 3-2 advantage for the home side. After Edinboro poured in two more scores to go up by three, the Storm rocketed three goals in under a minute to tie the game at five-apiece. A late Scots goal gave them the lead heading into the second period after an exhilarating first period of action.

After 11 combined goals in the opening 15 minutes, the 2nd period proved much more defensive oriented as the teams settled in. Both teams alternated two scores each, starting with Rachel Rose on the Storm side, followed by Madelyn Goodrich later on. As the board read 8-7 in favor of Edinboro at the half, the teams and spectators alike prepared for an exciting ending to the ballgame.

The Fighting Scots scored just 31 seconds after the 3rd period opened, increasing their lead to 9-7, but Goodrich and Brooke McNeal each netted their third-goal of the night, knotting the game at nines midway through the period. However, there would be six more goals scored in the final six minutes of the period, two by the Storm (Rose and Goodrich), and four by the Scots, as they took a 13-11 lead heading into the final stretch.

Edinboro continued their momentum early in the fourth, scoring and going up by three scores before Goodrich and Reese Friesen dug deep and willed their team back to a 14-13 deficit. Unfortunately, the Fighting Scots had more in the tank, responding with back-to-back goals of their own to lead by three with three minutes remaining. Madelyn Goodrich ultimately scored the final goal of the game, bringing her total to six on the day, but the Storm were handed their 11th-straight defeat. 

Player Notes

• Madelyn Goodrich scored six goals, her most in 42 games since netting seven against Felician back in 2023. With 18 goals in her last four games, she now has 38 on the season—tied for fifth-most in the G-MAC.

• Brooke McNeal recorded her sixth hat trick of the year. Her 43 goals lead the team and are tied for second in the conference.

• Reese Friesen notched her third career hat trick and first of the 2025 season.

• Rachel Rose scored on both of her shots, bringing the freshman to 12 goals on the year.

• Shannon Smith led the team with six ground balls, while Corinne Smimek added four. Smith now has a double-digit lead in that category across the G-MAC.

• Lainey Davis and McNeal each won three draw controls, the most on the team.

• In goal, Avery Artino started the game before Bethany Kirkwood entered at the 7:40 mark of the first quarter, recording five saves. Ainsley Sutter took over in the final period.

Team Notes

• Despite an almost identical stat line—shots (Edinboro 30, Lake Erie 29), shots on goal (21 each), and saves (Edinboro 7, Lake Erie 5)—the Storm defense forced 23 turnovers while the offense committed just 12. Lake Erie is now +30 on the turnover margin this season and has committed fewer turnovers than its opponent in all but three games.

• Lake Erie also had four more clears and eight more ground balls than Edinboro.

• However, the Storm struggled in the draw control department, losing it 25-9.

• They also allowed Edinboro to go a perfect 7-for-7 on free-position shots.

The Matchup

This result ties the all-time series at 3-3 between the two programs. Lake Erie had edged Edinboro in each of the past three seasons before Wednesday's loss.

Looking Ahead

Lake Erie has two games remaining on its 2025 schedule, both at home. First up is Ursuline on Saturday, April 12 at 1 p.m. The Storm will look to grab their second win of the season against a struggling Arrows squad that comes in at 1-9. Ursuline has been outscored 104-17 in their five G-MAC matchups, making this game one the Storm have had circled on the calendar for a while.

Ursuline's top scoring threats are Marygrace Hendershot, a freshman hailing from Riverside High School with 21 goals, and Grace Darone, a Chardon High School alum with 20 goals. Outside of those two, the rest of the team has combined for just 19 goals total.