Coming off of their win at Kennesaw State on Feb. 27, women’s lacrosse triumphed over the University of Massachusetts Lowell River Hawks on March 6.
The Bears pushed out to an early lead against the River Hawks with two goals from Chloe Schaeffer and Hailey Rhatigan. Umass Lowell then scored three goals to make the game 3-2. Mercer followed with a five-goal streak, closing the first period with a 7-3 lead.
The second period opened with a goal by Shannon Urey of Mercer, but the River Hawks broke their scoring drought to set the score at 8-4. The Bears scored three more times before the half behind goals from Rhatigan, Lyndsey Lewis and Urey. Umass managed a score, however, and the Bears went into the locker room leading 11-5.
The third period saw two more goals by the Bears, both made by Schaeffer, but the River Hawks pressed back with another three goals. The third period ended with Mercer leading 13-8.
In the fourth period, Umass Lowell opened the scoring in an attempt to make a comeback. Mercer, however, scored three in a row thanks to Hannah Lind, Schaeffer and Rhatigan to keep the River Hawks at bay 16-9. Umass Lowell added two goals before the game ended in a 16-11 win for the bears.
Five days after playing the river hawks, the Bears traveled to Chapel Hill to play the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. UNC opened the scoring but the Bears' Kileigh Casey answered to make the score 1-1. However, the Tar Heels dominated the first period scoring seven unanswered goals to go up 8-1.
The second period saw Mercer fall further behind. The Bears scored three scattered goals between Rhatigan and Schaeffer while the Tar Heels scored five goals to go up 13-4. Lind and Rhatigan scored twice more, but North Carolina converted four goals in the period for a 17-6 lead. The final period ended with three goals made by the Tar Heels before the last goal of the game made by Schaeffer. The Bears fell 7-20.
With a 3-2 record on the season, The Bears will be taking a break before visiting Clinton, South Carolina for their next game against Presbyterian on Friday, March 25.
Keith Holmes Jr. ‘22 is a journalism and creative writing double major who has worked with The Cluster as general staff since his Sophomore year. Keith has received Best in SNO awards for his sports articles along with years of work at Mercer’s ESPN3 branch. Keith spends his free time playing video games and writing fiction around campus.
