NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Merrimack College women's lacrosse team was trumped by Wagner College in a tight NEC battle that came down to the wire.
 
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 11, Wagner 13
Records: Merrimack (1-6, 1-1 NEC) | Wagner (1-4, 1-0)
 
Rapid Recap
Wednesday afternoon was a beautiful day for lacrosse, as Merrimack returned home to play their first home game since February 17^th. Wagner would get on the board within the first minute of play, but the Warriors quickly responded. Merrimack notched three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead with just under 8 minutes in the 1^st. Undisciplined play by the Warriors allowed the Seahawks to convert on all 3 of their free position attempts to tie the game 4-4 at the end of the 1^st quarter. Samantha Spieler broke the tie with her second goal of the game, which sparked a 2^nd quarter Warriors run. Wagner would be shut out in the quarter and Merrimack took advantage of their great defense with 5 straight goals. Both Spieler and Kaitlin Roche would put up first-half hat tricks as the Warriors went into halftime up 9-4.
 
With a goalie change to start the second half, Wagner turned the game around. After five minutes of scoreless play, the Seahawks would put two in the net to cut their deficit to three. Roche responded with a goal of her own making the game 10-6. Wagner finished out the quarter strong due to a couple of Merrimack penalties. Two woman-up goals helped the Seahawks close out the quarter only down 10-9. The 4^th quarter began with each team waiting to see who cracked first. Wagner struck and tied the game at 10-10. Natalie Calkins gave the Warriors the edge with only seven minutes remaining in regulation. Just a minute later, the Seahawks would yet again tie things up. The momentum had shifted in Wagner's favor, as they would cap the game off with the winning goal at 4:27 in the 4^th, and some insurance right thereafter. Merrimack would fall to Wagner by a final score of 13-11.

Notes and Numbers

• Kaitlin Roche scored a team-high 4 goals and secured 8 draw controls
• Natalie Calkins produced 4 points for the Warriors (3 goals and 1 assist)
• Lindsay Atkinson dished out a team-high 2 assists

Up Next
The Warriors hit the road and travel to Loretto, Pennsylvania to take on the Saint Francis Red Flash this Saturday, March 16^th at noon.