Gray Becomes 7th to Earn 300 Saves in Women's Lacrosse Loss to #8 Flagler

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The Frostburg State Women's Lacrosse team fell to No. 8 Flagler on the road Tuesday evening in the start of their spring break trip, dropping their first game of the week with a final score of 20-10.

Frostburg got on the board early, as sophomore Neila Haney scooped up the first draw control of the game, leading to graduate Marua O'Neill ripping a shot at goal that went wide, with FSU regaining possession to set up junior Kerri Hayes for the game's opening score. The Bobcats denied the first offensive possession from Flagler, with sophomore Jessie Bare being credited with a caused turnover, but the Saints picked up the momentum in their defensive half, setting themselves up for a try at goal on the other end, slicing the ball into the back of the net for a 1-1 tie. FC kept things going, picking up the next draw control and connecting once more, this time on a free position attempt, jumping in front 2-1 around the 10 minute mark. Everything on offense continued to work for Flagler, as they repeated the same action, picking up the next draw control and connecting on a free position shot once again. The Saints scored one more goal in the same exact scenario once again, before O'Neill found sophomore Emily Lamoreaux for a 4-2 game. The Bobcats fought back for two more goals, with O'Neill finding Hayes at the 5:08 mark for a 4-3 score, and junior Savanna Reitz putting one in the back of the net at the 3:36 mark on a free position shot, tying the game up at 4-4. Junior Nicole Gray picked up two huge saves on free position shots to end the quarter, though FC did get one goal by, scoring with 19 seconds left to take a 5-4 lead after the first quarter.

The Saints added another one right away to kick off the second quarter, scoring on the first possession for a 6-4 advantage. Flagler fired two more shots at goal, one going wide and one being stopped by Gray, before they found the back of the net for a 7-4 game. The Saints kept rolling in the period, winning the resulting draw control and marching down for a perfect play and an 8-4 lead. Halfway into the second, FC tacked on one more goal to their advantage, as Frostburg continued to look for their first shot of the quarter. The Saints tried three more times at goal, with FSU stopping two of them and one shot being sent wide, as Flagler's fourth straight shot found the back of the net, bringing the game to 10-4. Sophomore Isabelle Kelly was able to stop FC on their next offensive possession, causing a turnover, as after multiple possessions by both teams, Lamoreaux got the ball into the back of the net for her second goal of the game, to see the score at 10-5 with 3:20 left in the half. The Bobcats were finally able to show some life on offense, with senior Camden DeMaio and Haney seeing tries at goal as the quarter winded out, with Gray denying two more shots from the Saints on the other end, but FC was able to knot one more goal to end the half, holding an 11-5 advantage heading into the break.

Gray kicked off the third quarter with another save and a groundball, as junior Julia Badolato fired the first shot of the frame for FSU, but Flagler built their lead to 12-5 three and a half minutes into the quarter. The Saints kept their scoring onslaught from the first half, knotting another goal just over a minute later. Gray then caused a turnover by FC their next time down, leading to a shot from Hayes at the other end. The Bobcats kept possession, setting up Haney for a chance at a free position attempt, where she got past the keeper for a 13-6 score. Flagler responded right away, taking the draw control down for a quick goal. Gray stood in the way of two more shots from FC, until the Saints tacked one more goal to their lead with 3:27 left in the quarter. DeMaio scooped up the following draw control, as Haney was set up for another free position attempt, connecting once again to allow the score to read 15-7. FC attempted two more tries at goal, one being stopped by Gray, and one being put high, as Flagler led 15-7 heading into the fourth and final quarter.

FC wasn't done yet, earning the draw control right off the bat, and increasing their lead to 16-7 a minute and 30 seconds into the fourth. The Saints pounded in another goal as Frostburg connected on their first shot of the quarter, with Badolato finding the net off a feed from Lamoreaux to make the score 17-8. As the Saints had been doing all game, they responded right away to jump back up by 10. O'Neill saw an attempt at goal, hitting the post, as Flagler succeeded once more on offense to push ahead 19-8 just over halfway into the fourth. On the very next possession, FC scored their final goal of the game to allow the score to read 20-8. With just over five minutes left in regulation, Hayes knotted another free position goal, followed by Haney dishing the ball to Lamoreaux for another goal, allowing the final score to read 20-10 in favor of Flagler.

Hayes and Lamoreaux both knotted hat tricks on the day, with the latter being credited with an assist as well. Haney was next with two goals, an assist, four draw controls, and a caused turnover, as Kelly led the Bobcat defense with two caused turnovers. Gray made a total of 15 saves in goal, knotting her 300th career save at FSU, the seventh most in program history.

With the loss, Frostburg drops to 4-4 on the season, while Flagler improves to 10-1. The Bobcats will remain down south for spring break, as they travel to Greenwood, S.C. to face Lander at 4 PM on Friday, March 22. For more information and updates, please visit frostburgsports.com.