COLUMBUS, Oh. - The Robert Morris University women's lacrosse team dropped its season opener against Ohio State University 13-8 Sunday afternoon at the Woody Hayes Athletic Complex.

Five different Colonials recorded goals on the afternoon, including three from senior Mackenzie Gandy to lead the team. Twin sister Melanie Gandy also netted a pair and tied for the lead in shots with four. The loss moves the Colonials to 0-1 to start the 2020 campaign.

"Today was a really exciting start to the season," head coach Katrina Silva said.  "The girls played hard all over the field, and our defense played especially well. We have to give a lot of credit to Ohio State, who are a very fast and physical team, but I thought we held our own throughout the game."

The Colonials were deadlocked with the Buckeyes 4-4 with under three minutes to play in the first half, however Ohio State potted two late goals 12 seconds apart to take a 6-4 lead after 30 minutes of play.

Three OSU goals in the first eight minutes of the second gave them more breathing room as they held on for their second win of the season.

Just like they have done so many times throughout their careers, the Gandy sisters provided a huge spark for the RMU attack Sunday in Columbus.  Mackenzie led the team in scoring, picking up her first hat trick of the season on just four shots and adding an assist. Melanie also picked up a helper to go with her two goals.

Senior midfielder Clio Kerr also made her presence felt, posting a team-high four draw controls to go along with two shots and an assist. Meghan Crouse opened the scoring for RMU and was one of seven Colonials to cause a turnover.

Freshman Colleen Tifft scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the opening half, as her and sophomore Emilie Kim each found the back of the net less than two minutes apart to pull RMU back even at 4-4 after trailing 4-2.

Although Ohio State enjoyed a majority of the statistical advantages, they just narrowly edged RMU in ground balls, 16-15.  Goalie Katelyn Miller made 13 saves in her 54th consecutive start, including eight on free-position attempts.

The Colonials return to action this coming Saturday, February 15 when they host Kent State for their home opener at 1 p.m.

"We need to clean up our offense and transition to take advantage of the opportunities that are given to us," Silva said.  "If we can do that,  I think we'll be able to be ready to play a complete 60 minutes."