BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The game came down to the wire but in a close contest on Saturday afternoon, the American University lacrosse team ultimately fell to the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh 11-9.
 
It was a game that started out all Mountain Hawks, the host team going on a 5-0 run to open play. The Eagles forced the tide to shift their way though, and they went on a 4-1 run in the second period. The final two periods would be a back-and-forth fight, but despite taking a 9-8 lead with under nine minute to play, the Mountain Hawks would score three unanswered in the final minutes to take the victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Sophomore Reagan Murdoch led the Eagles with four goals on the afternoon. The midfielder would also add an assist, a ground ball, and a draw control to her stat line.
• Becca Frank would tack on three goals to come out with a hat trick. The junior forward was efficient, going 3-for-4 in shots on goal on the day.
• Annabelle Jackson would walk out of the match with two goals from two shots. The sophomore was effective from both distance and short range.
• Frank, Murdoch, and Alyssa Apuzzo would each have an assist while first-year Jasmine Connor would grab one as well.
• Hannah Spease topped the squad on draw controls with four; she also added a ground ball and a caused turnover to the efforts.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A slow start to the game, with neither team finding the back of the net for the first five minutes, was broken by Lehigh first on transition effort from the Mountain Hawks.
• It would end up being 5-0 run for the host team in the first quarter when they scored their fifth goal with 38 seconds remaining in the frame. The Eagles had two shots on goal, but both were saved by the Lehigh goalkeeper.
• Two minutes into the second, Apuzzo won a free position shot, and on the attempt, she passed it to Jackson who slammed the ball into the back of the goal for the Eagles to get on the board.
• Lehigh answered immediately though, and less than a minute later, added another goal to their lead, still up five, 6-1, with 12 minutes to play before the half.
• The pair of Jackson and Apuzzo would link up again, on another free position shot earned by Apuzzo. She would defer to Jackson who would net another and bring the score to 6-2 with 9:15 to play. Frank would add to the total, cutting the Lehigh lead to three, when with 2:54 left, she drove and added a goal with an assist to Murdoch.
• Murdoch, with just over a minute left to play in the opening half, would add a goal for herself and the Eagles would hold off any further scoring from the Mountain Hawks, going on a 4-1 run in the second frame, finishing the first half trailing by two, 6-4.
• Coming out of the break, Lehigh struck quick, dropping a goal 20 seconds into the restart. Twenty seconds later, on an athlete-up advantage, the Eagles' got back another goal by way of Frank, who, along with Jackson, was on a brace. The score line read 7-5 with 12:28 to play.
• At the 11:14 mark of the third, Murdoch would score a second goal as well, and the Eagles found themselves down just one, 7-6, to the Mountain Hawks.
• The third period would be back and forth. Lehigh would add another goal, followed by a goal from Frank, now on a hat trick, and the score again was one differential, 8-7, Eagles trailing with 6:14 left in the third period.
• A scramble in front of the Lehigh goal with a little over four minutes left to play in the third would result in Frank passing the ball off to Murdoch who, when the ball hit the back of the net, would joint her on a hat trick and the game was tied 8-all. The 8-all score would hold through the remainder of the third and the two teams would head to the fourth even.
• The first six minutes of the fourth frame were scoreless, meaning there was a ten minute scoring drought for both teams until Murdoch got her fourth goal of the day to give the Eagles' their first lead of the afternoon, up 9-8 with 8:45 to play.
• The lead would only last the next minute and a half though when Lehigh struck quickly after a timeout taken to regroup. The Mountain Hawks retook the lead, 10-9, before grabbing the final goal of the game with four minutes to go.
• Despite late foul trouble, and going down two players, Lehigh held off an American push back and claimed the victory 11-9 over AU. 

NEXT UP
The squad will bring the action to upstate New York for a midweek contest with Iona on Wednesday, Mar. 13 at 1 p.m. before they come back home to Jacobs Complex for a two game homestand starting with a face off with Siena on Saturday, Mar. 16 at 1 p.m. before having a week off to get ready to take on Colgate on Saturday, Mar. 23 at noon.
 
KEEP UP WITH US
For the latest on American University lacrosse, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@au_lacrosse) and Instagram (@au_wlax).