Moon Township, Pa. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team watched a 6-5 halftime lead slip away as Mount St. Mary's unleashed a ten-goal barrage in the second half to walk out of Joe Walton Stadium with 15-7 victory this afternoon.
Sophomore Kara Blakeley (Gibsonia, Pa. / Pine Richland) led the Colonials (6-9, 3-4 NEC) offense with a four-goal performance in the first half alone.
Sophomore Ashley Levering (Glenwood, Md. / Glenelg) picked up a goal and an assist in the game to extend her point streak to 17-games, which ranks in the top-35 in Division I women's lacrosse.
Junior Bethany Mahaffey (Edgewater, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian) and Sophomore Emily Tomlinson (Springfield, Va. / West Springfield) each scored a goal.
It was an offensive battle to start off the game as both teams exchanged goals through the first half. Levering picked up her 21st goal of the year only 51 seconds into the contest while MSM would counter a little over a minute later to tie the game at 1-1.
Blakeley added the next three RMU goals over a 21 minutes span to keep the home one step ahead of the visitors, 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3. After the fourth Mount goal of the game to tie things up again, Tomlinson gave her team back the lead at 7:13. Junior Josephine Zizic (Chicago, Ill. / Culver Academy) picked up a helper on the goal.
Mount St. Mary's finished off their first half scoring at 4:42 with an unassisted goal by A.J. Johnson that knotted things up at 5-5. Blakeley capped off her first half performance with a fourth goal at 2:52, shutting down the scoring on both ends with the Colonials holding a 6-5 lead going into halftime.
Despite the lead going into halftime, the Colonials couldn't find the offensive fire power to counter a 10-1 scoring drive by Mount St. Mary in the second half. RMU fell behind quickly as The Mount reeled off ten goals in a row, taking a commanding 15-6 lead. RMU tickled the thread for the final time off a Bethany Mahaffey score with 3:52 left in the game.
Freshmen Erica Webb (Arnold, Md. / Broadneck) and Ashley Walsh (Fairfax Station, Va. / Lake Braddock) split time in goal with Webb making eight saves in 43:41 played while Walsh wrapped up the contest with two saves in 16:08.
Sophomore Mary Kate Egan (Lynch, Md. / Kent) cleaned up on defense in the game, scooping up four ground balls while causing four turnovers.
Mount St. Mary's out-shot Robert Morris, 30-29, and held the advantage in draw controls, 13-11. The Colonials won the ground ball battle with a 16-15 edge.
The women's lacrosse team wraps up their regular season this Sunday, April 22, as the Colonials host Wagner in a Northeast Conference match-up. Game time is set for noon.
