Bishop women fall to Bridgewater College, 12-9

Rocky Mount, NC - In Saturday's lacrosse action at Scalf Field, Bridgewater College built a 7-4 halftime lead over homestanding North Carolina Wesleyan and overcame a second half Bishop rally to secure a 12-9 victory, their first of the season.  The Bishops, who got as close a 8-6 in the final period, saw senior Allie Stylc tally three goals and four assists in the losing effort.  NCWC is now 1-2 to start the season, while the Eagles are 1-0.

Wesleyan took an early 2-0 lead on goals by Stylc and Cary Trump less than four minutes into the contest.  BC responded with three unanswered goals by Erin Cartwright, Abby Morris, and Lauren Kondor to take its first lead, 3-2, with 22:02 remaining in the half.

A Bishop goal by Stephanie Branch at the 13:07 mark tied the game at 3-3, but the Eagles' Anne Fisher notched her first goal of the season just 42 seconds later, and Bridgewater would not trail again.  The Eagles closed the period with a 4-1 run.

In the second half, NCWC's Lauren Stearns and Sarah Matulich scored two of the period's first three goals to pull Wesleyan to within two at 8-6 with 17:52 left in regulation.  The Bishops, however, would get no closer as the Eagles' second 4-1 run of the game put BC on top 12-7.  Sarah Bursey scored what proved to be the eventual game-winner off of a Emily Bauer pass with 13:16 remaining.

In addition to Stylc's performance, Stearns and Matulich each tallied two goals and an assist for the Bishops.  Morris paced the Eagles with three goals of her own.

For the game, Bridgewater out-shot Wesleyan 25-20.  BC's Colleen Schwind made seven saves in goal to earn the win, while NCWC's Sarah Seligman recorded six.

Wesleyan will now travel to Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex for a two-game tournament.  The Bishops will take on Gwynedd-Mercy at 11:00 a.m. on Monday and Roanoke College at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.