Women’s Lacrosse Clipped by Kenyon, 14-10

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior attacker Natalie DeMaio (Westwood, Mass.) led all scorers with four goals, but Kenyon College used a late second half run to push past the Owls 14-10 from the Spring Fling Tournament in Panama City Beach, Florida on Friday afternoon.

The Owls conclude their three-game slate from Florida, falling to 3-2 on the season. Kenyon, who are currently collecting receiving votes in the USA Lacrosse Division III Top 20 Poll, improve to 3-3 overall.

Kylie Buchanan (Westfield, Mass.) added three goals with Emma Prattson (Tolland, Conn.), Megan Bailey (Quincy, Mass.), and Mykenzie Black (Hopedale, Mass.) all finding the back of the net once for the Owls.

Ali Hatfield (New Vernon, N.J.) led Kenyon with three goals as eight different players registered at least one goal for Kenyon.

The first half was tightly contested throughout with Bailey answering a pair of Kenyon goals in the first quarter to begin the game's scoring for the Owls.

Westfield found themselves trailing by four goals in the early stages of the second quarter after three-straight scores from Kenyon gave them a 6-2 lead with 13:19 left. The Owls responded by holding Kenyon scoreless for the remainder of the period, getting two goals from Buchanan and a third from DeMaio on a free position shot to trim the deficit to one goal at halftime.

51 seconds into the second half, Black found Prattson for the equalizer, then less than a minute later, Black notched the go-ahead goal, giving the Owls a 7-6 lead with 13:33 left in the third.

Kenyon then fired in three unanswered goals with Hatfield netting her second goal to regain the lead at 8-7. Another Kenyon marker from Lily Mason (Evanston, Ill.) with just under three minutes to go in the third extended the Kenyon lead before DeMaio converted on another free position attempt to draw back to a one-goal game.

Kenyon closed the third and opened the final period by scoring five straight goals, with two deposited by Kate Lengel (Glenwood, Md.) to give Kenyon a 14-8 lead with 5:20 remaining in the game, ultimately sealing the victory.

Sydney Smith (Dalton, Mass.) got the start in net for Westfield, taking the loss after recording seven saves. Nola Garand (Southborough, Mass.) also collected seven saves in a winning effort. Kenyon held a 30-23 shots advantage. The Owls were just 4-9 on free position shots.

Westfield State will travel to Connecticut College for their next game on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M.