Mercer University
Presbyterian
Women's Lacrosse Edged by Presbyterian, 15-14
3/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
CLINTON, S.C. – Erica Coyne scored six goals and set a single-game program record to lead the Mercer women's lacrosse team, but it was not enough as the Bears were edged, 15-14, by the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Friday afternoon.
Coyne also added an assist and a draw control, while Kate Leone notched three goals, an assist and a ground ball. Jillian Bailey scored a season-high two goals and added two assists, two ground balls and a draw control.
Meghan Segreti tallied two goals, two ground balls, four draw controls and a caused turnover. Lindsey Zeltwanger dished out two assists and had a team-leading three caused turnovers and two ground balls. Holly Berns recorded a goal and a ground ball, and Fiona Stockton contributed three ground balls, three draw controls and two caused turnovers.
Nova Ward dug up a team-leading four ground balls and caused two turnovers, and Audrey Allen added two ground balls and a caused turnover. Haleigh Wurzel played the first half in goal for Mercer, making two saves and allowing 10 goals, and Michele Holmes came in for the second half and made three saves and allowed five goals.
The Bears (3-4) jumped to a 2-0 lead just 1:32 into the game with goals from Berns and Coyne. After a pair of Blue Hose goals and one from Segreti put the score at 3-2, Coyne scored three of Mercer's next four goals and the Bears took a 7-2 lead. Bailey assisted Coyne on two of her goals and then scored Mercer's fourth goal of the run.
Presbyterian (2-5) answered with five straight goals to knot the score at 7-7 with 10:04 remaining in the half. Leone found the back of the net to slow the Blue Hose down, but they scored the final three goals of the half to take a 10-8 lead at the break.
Presbyterian scored the first two goals of the second period to stretch its advantage to 12-8 with 21:13 remaining. The Bears fought back to put it at 12-10 after Leone and Bailey scored just 14 seconds apart. After some back-and-forth, Coyne notched two more goals to make it a one-goal game, 14-13, with 6:36 to go.
The Blue Hose added some breathing room with a goal at 3:20, but Segreti cut the lead again, this time to 15-14, with 56 seconds remaining. Stockton came up with the draw control, but the Bears were unable to hold onto the ball and once they got it back, couldn't get off a final shot.
Next up, Mercer will travel to Detroit, Mich., to face Detroit-Mercy in the Bears' first Atlantic Sun game of the season. The game is set to being at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25.
For all the latest information on Mercer women's lacrosse, please visit MercerBears.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Mercer lacrosse on Twitter at @MercerWLax or www.twitter.com/MercerWLAX.
