WASHINGTON - The American University lacrosse team battled for 60 minutes with Colgate in a Senior Day game that saw six lead changes and 11 ties, but couldn't find the equalizer late and fell to the Raiders, 16-15, on Saturday.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Fifth-year Emma Vinall was back in form on Saturday after a pair of goal-less games against Bucknell and Navy, scoring five to lead the Eagles.
• Senior Stefanie Walsh added three for her seventh hat trick of the season and pitched in one of AU's five assists for four points on the day.
• Freshmen Alyssa Apuzzo and Maddy Spratt were also back on the score sheet with a pair of goals each while classmate Becca Frank finished with one. 
• Fifth-year Kendall Goldblum and senior Katie Pierce closed out scoring with a goal each on their Senior Day celebration.
• Sophomore Mary Alice Collins was back in goal for the full 60 minutes and came up with nine saves.
• Colgate put seven on the scoreboard, starting with four goals each from Devon Maillet and Eliza Soutter. 
• Soutter also pitched in a pair of assists for a game-high six points.
• Cara O'Reilly dominated in the circle with a game-high 12 draw controls as the Raiders held a 27-8 advantage overall over the Eagles.
• Olivia Lynch played all 60 minutes in goal for Colgate and closed with 19 saves.
• It was a high-octane battle as the two teams combined for 81 shots with American leading, 45-36.
• Colgate gave up 22 turnovers to AU's dozen. The Eagles also led in ground balls, 27-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Colgate was first to get on the board with a quick goal from Maillet, but a 4-0 AU run gave the Eagles the largest lead of the day at 4-1 with just over seven minutes left in the first quarter.
• The Raiders responded with a run of their own, posting three unanswered goals through the end of the stanza before Spratt found the back of the net off a pass from senior Hali Sibilia to regain a one-goal advantage to start the second quarter.
• The two teams traded goals over the next six minutes until back-to-back scoring efforts from Colgate's Maillet and Licata gave them their first lead since the opening minutes at 7-6.
• The advantage was short lived, though, as the Eagles posted a pair of their own behind efforts from Vinall and Walsh to go into the break back ahead at 8-7.
• Within the first minute of the second half, the game was tied again after an early goal from Colgate's Sarah Harding knotted the score at 8-8.
• For the third time, Walsh and Vinall posted back-to-back goals in response, but a 3-0 Colgate run put the Raiders ahead at 11-10.
• The two teams traded goals once again before Vinall tied the game with four seconds left in the third quarter, scoring her fifth and final goal of the day off a pass from Walsh to draw even at a dozen goals each.
• American regained a one-goal lead at 14-13 behind goals from Apuzzo and Pierce to open the fourth quarter, but Colgate posted three unanswered goals within a minute of each other to take a two-goal lead into the final six minutes of the game.
• Frank added one more to bring the score to 16-15, but the Eagles couldn't quite capitalize on the late looks needed to force the game into extra time.

NEXT UP
American will close the regular-season with back-to-back road games, first at Lehigh at 7 p.m. on Monday, then Boston University at 4 p.m. on Friday.

For the latest on American University Lacrosse, follow the team on Twitter (@AU_Lacrosse) and Instagram (@au_wlax).