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Box Score

CLAREMONT, Calif. (Mar. 16, 2012) - A furious second-half rally was nearly enough to enable the North Central College women's lacrosse team to score a victory on Friday, but a game-clinching save in the final minute gave Pomona-Pitzer College (Calif.) a 14-13 victory in the first game of the Cardinals' Spring Break trip to the West Coast. 

North Central (1-2) battled back after trailing by as many as six goals and was in position to tie the game for the first time with 46 seconds on the clock, but Danielle Fiala's free-position attempt was denied by Pomona-Pitzer goalkeeper Casey Leek and the Cardinals were not able to manufacture another shot  before time ran out.

The Sagehens (3-5) jumped ahead with two goals in the first 1:13 before North Central got on the board with Jacqui Morgan's goal with 26:26 on the first-half clock. A run of three straight goals in just over a minute helped Pomona-Pitzer gain some breathing room, and the hosts established a six-goal advantage before Rachael Houp's goal in the final minute of the period cut the Cardinals' deficit to 11-6.

North Central allowed just one goal to the Sagehens in the first 17 minutes of the second half, scoring four times to cut the lead to 12-10. Facing a 14-11 deficit in the final minutes, the Cardinals narrowed the gap to two goals once again when Fiala knifed through the defense and scored with 5:26 to play. After North Central goalkeeper Sarah Hon stopped a shot on the ensuing possession, the Cardinals closed to within a single goal as Leea LoPresti scored on a free-position shot.

Fiala, Morgan and Amy Frazzini led North Central in scoring with three goals each, while Hon, whose work in goal helped the Cardinals hold Pomona-Pitzer scoreless for the final 9:35, finished with 13 saves. 

The Sagehens got four goals apiece from Julie Necarsulmer and Jana London.

North Central plays at Whittier College (Calif.) on Sunday at 11 a.m. Pacific time.