The Forester women's lacrosse team was edged out 16-14 at the College of Saint Benedict on Wednesday.
The game started out well for the visitors, who took an early two-goal lead on scores from sophomores Abby Meyer and Jenna Doctor. It was Doctor's team-high 29th of the spring. Saint Benedict, however, rattled off five in a row and, after the first of four goals on the day by Lake Forest junior Ali Graham, the home team netted one more to make it a 6-3 game at the end of the opening quarter.
The second quarter included single goals by Graham and Forester freshmen Emma Sharp and Shannon Gibbons, as well as a pair of free position scores from sophomore Krissy Kuwahara. The Bennies struck three times in the period and were nursing a 9-8 edge at halftime.
Saint Benedict increased its lead in the third, outscoring the Foresters 5-2 in the period. Meyer and Graham accounted for the visitors' goals and they entered the final 15 minutes trailing 14-10.
Graham's fourth of the day and 27th this season started the fourth quarter scoring and junior Ryleigh Nelson's 13th of the year came a few minutes later. The Bennies answered both of those scores with tallies of their own and the margin was four once again until Kuwahara completed her hat trick and netted her 11th of the season with 4:34 to play. Graham set up a score by Gibbons with 2:10 on the clock but the comeback bid ended there.
Saint Benedict had a slight 31-30 advantage in shots and both teams made 11 saves in the contest.
In addition to scoring once in each quarter, Graham caused a pair of turnovers and led all players in the contest with a program record 11 draw controls.
The loss dropped the Foresters' overall record to 4-7 and Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference mark to 3-1. Saint Benedict improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the league.
