ORANGE, Calif. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team fell in a nail-biting 14-12 final at Chapman on Monday afternoon.

 

The host Panthers established a 2-0 lead through the first 7:05 of play as the Belles opted to take a timeout. Erin Doyle and Kate Kelly each had scoring chances over the next eight-plus minutes of action before Kelly fed a pass to Molly Stout, who put Saint Mary's on the scoreboard with 13:10 on the clock. Chapman responded a minute later with a free position goal, but Saint Mary's forced a pair of turnovers and Emily Kraker came up with a pair of saves as the Belles stayed within striking distance. Erin Doyle pulled the visiting side within a goal with a free position strike with 7:26 remaining in the first period, but the Panthers responded with four quick goals in the span of three minutes to gain a 7-2 lead going into the halftime break.

 

Host Chapman opened the second half with a goal in the opening minute, but the Belles were undeterred as they faced an 8-2 deficit. Doyle won the next draw control, and Kelly scored 16 seconds later to put Saint Mary's right back in business. Bridget Kane picked up a ground ball deep in the Panthers' defensive end and assisted on another Erin Doyle goal to make it 8-4. Chapman got a goal back after a back-and-forth stretch of five minutes to regain a five-goal cushion with more than 22 minutes remaining on the clock. The Panthers quickly notched another goal for a 10-4 advantage, but the Belles continued to fight. Kelly picked up an assist on a goal by Erin Doyle, Kendra Osinski added a goal two minutes later, and Doyle sent home a free position shot with under 15 minutes to play to make it a 10-7 score.

 

Chapman won the next draw and scored quickly for an 11-7 lead, but the Belles wet on a tear over the next six minutes of action. Kate Kelly scored a free position goal before winning a draw control and scoring a minute later. Molly Stout struck two minutes later off of a feed from Kelly, and Erin Doyle drew the Belles even with under 10 minutes remaining after another Kelly draw and assist. Bridget Kane had a free position shot saved, but Rachel Ledyard picked up the ground ball and later scored on yet another assist by Kelly to give Saint Mary's their first lead at 12-11 with 8:29 to play. The defense came up with a big blocked shot on the next Panthers possession and were successful on the clear. Doyle and Stout each had a shot go wide around the six-minute mark. Chapman regained possession after the second shot, and the Panthers scored a minute and a half later to tie the game at 12-12 with 4:21 on the clock. Emily Kraker had a big save after Chapman won the next draw, but the Panthers put away the second-chance opportunity to go up 13-12 with under four minutes remaining. Rachael Leonard won the ensuing draw, but the Belles were unable to generate a scoring chance on the possession. Chapman won the ball back on a caused turnover and scored a free position goal with 46 seconds left for the final 14-12 margin.

 

Erin Doyle led all players with five goals. Kate Kelly set a program record with five assists while tallying three goals and eight ground balls. Molly Stout chipped in two goals, and Kendra Osinski had a goal and an assist. Rachel Ledyard netted her first career goal on her only shot of the game. Emily Kraker made 11 saves in goal for the Belles.