ROCK ISLAND – The Augustana Vikings women's lacrosse team was defeated by the visiting Cornell Rams on Wednesday, falling by a score of 13-10 from Thorson-Lucken Field.
Cornell grabbed the opening score of the game less than three minutes in before Cassidy Petrie scored on a woman-up opportunity to tie the game 1-1 at the 6:29 mark. The Rams immediately responded with a score but were met with a goal just over a minute later from reigning offensive player of the week, Elena Bechard. Cornell scored three unanswered goals before Claire Kim stopped the run with a free-position shot to bring the score to 5-3 after one quarter of action.
The visitors posted another plus-two advantage in the second to bring a four-goal lead into halftime. Bechard scored first a minute into the second, but the Vikings were met with a 3-1 run from Cornell to close the period. Petrie grabbed her second goal of the game with 50 seconds remaining in the first half.
The third period remained stagnant until a Bechard score at 6:38 put points on the board for Augie. Madison Langewisch followed with her first goal of the night to trim the Cornell lead to two. The Rams scored with 10 seconds remaining in the third to take a 10-7 lead into the final frame.
Augustana quickly cut the deficit to one to begin the fourth, seeing scores from Bechard and Langewisch with nearly 12 minutes left to play. After a Cornell goal around the eight-minute mark, the Vikings got back within one on another Langewisch score. Augustana was unable to find the equalizer and the Rams added two more to bring the final score to 13-10.
Bechard led the Vikings' scoring attack for the second straight game, tallying four goals on nine shots. Langewisch also nabbed three goals, while Petrie and Kim had two and one, respectively. Augie caused 18 turnovers, led by Bechard and Petrie with three apiece. Bechard also led the team in ground balls with nine. In net, Rachel Forman secured 12 saves in 60 minutes of action.
The Vikings move to 2-1 on the season following the loss. The team will remain at Thorson-Lucken Field for another non-conference bout against Concordia-Chicago on Saturday, March 18. Start time is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
