CRESTVIEW HILLS, Kentucky -- The Lake Erie women's lacrosse team battled Thomas More University in its final game of the season on Thursday evening, falling 24-7.
The Storm grabbed an early 3-1 lead behind a Brooke McNeal goal in the opening minute and two scores from Gabriella Adie just minutes later, but things quickly unraveled from there. The Saints answered with six straight goals to close the first quarter and take a 7-3 lead.
McNeal opened the second period with another goal to momentarily stop the run, but Thomas More responded once again, building a 9-4 advantage before Rachel Rose scored the fifth goal of her sophomore campaign. From there, Lake Erie was held scoreless for the next 19 minutes while the home team poured in 10 more goals.
Trailing 19-5, Claire Varvel found the back of the net for the final goal of the third quarter, and Adie scored the final goal of the game 15 minutes later to complete her hat trick. In between, the Saints added five more goals on their way to the win.
Lake Erie closes the season with a 2-14 record, earning victories over Lees-McRae and Ursuline. As a team, the Storm finished fourth in the conference in ground balls per game at 19.19. Brooke McNeal also finished in the top 10 in the conference in caused turnovers per game at 1.5.
Both of Lake Erie's primary goalkeepers finished among the conference leaders in saves, with Avery Artino ranking seventh with 83 and Bethany Kirkwood placing 10th with 43. Artino also recorded her 200th career save earlier this season against Findlay.
Junior Brooke McNeal led the team in scoring with 29 goals and seven assists. She also accounted for half of the team's free-position goals, scoring eight times from the spot, and topped that off with 24 caused turnovers, a team-high.
Freshman Gabriella Adie was one of the team's brightest spots this season, closing the year with a goal in each of her final 10 games, including three on Thursday night. She finished second on the team with 21 goals while posting a 42.9 shooting percentage, one of the best marks on the roster, especially impressive given her volume.
Redshirt senior Reese Friesen wrapped up her career having appeared in 53 games for the Storm, totaling 45 goals and 37 assists during her time at Lake Erie. This season, she finished third on the team in goals and tied for second in assists with freshman Lindsey Sutter, as both recorded six.
Lainey Davis and LeAnna Waters tied for the team lead in draw controls with 35 apiece.
Isabella Morales led the Storm in ground balls with 37, while her caused turnovers per game mark left her just outside the conference top 10.
While the Storm will graduate key contributors, including some of their top offensive production, there were still clear bright spots from a younger group that continued to develop throughout the season. With Coach Brobeck entering her third year at the helm, the program will continue to take shape as she builds toward a roster that fully reflects her vision.
