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Box Score

WHITTIER, Calif. (Mar. 24, 2014) - Despite threatening to turn the tide on several occasions, the North Central College women's lacrosse team was turned away in its effort to roll up a victory in the first of a three-game stretch on the Pacific coast, dropping a hard-fought 12-10 decision to the Whittier College Poets at Memorial Stadium.

The Cardinals (1-1) fell behind early and narrowed the gap to a single goal on three occasions in the second half, but were never able to draw even. Whittier (3-5) tallied three unanswered goals late in the second half to gain some breathing room and secured its third straight win after opening the season with five losses.

The Poets opened a 3-1 advantage in the first seven minutes of play before North Central got a goal from Jordyn McFarlane and a free-position score from Leea LoPresti to tie the score at 3-3 with 19:58 on the clock in the first period. The Cardinals, however, were held scoreless for the rest of the period and managed just one shot attempt in the final 15 minutes before halftime. Whittier took advantage of the dry spell and opened up a 7-3 lead by the break, scoring twice in the final two minutes.

North Central worked its way back into contention early in the second period, scoring on two free-position attempts by GIna Fisher and a third by LoPresti in the first six minutes after play resumed to trail by a single goal at 7-6. The teams traded goals twice over the next eight minutes, leaving the score at 9-8 in Whittier's favor with 16:52 on the clock after LoPresti scored on an assist by FIsher.

Whittier's Lily Baxter controlled the ensuing draw and assisted Rachel Lansner on a goal less than a minute later. The Poets tacked on a goal by Meesha Robinson after forcing a midfield turnover, then got a shorthanded goal from Baxter with 3:18 remaining to build their lead up to 12-8. McFarlane cut the lead in half with two goals in the late going, including a free-position goal just before time ran out.

LoPresti finished with a career-high four goals and three draw controls, while Fisher scored three times and collected four ground balls. Fisher caused two turnovers, pushing her career total to 54 to give her the North Central career record in just her second year in the program. Anna Bartels finished with a team-best four draw controls.

Rebekah Delledera and Shaina Denny each scored three goals to lead Whittier, which also got three assists and eight draw controls from Baxter.

North Central heads to Los Angeles to take on Occidental College on Tuesday, with action scheduled to get under way at 7 p.m. Pacific time. Links to live video coverage and in-game statistics can be accessed by clicking HERE.