LANCASTER, Pa. – The No. 13 ranked York College women's lacrosse team suffered a 9-5 loss on the road at No. 8 Franklin & Marshall on Wednesday afternoon.

For the second game in a row, the Spartans (1-1) fell behind 2-0 in the early minutes of the first half. Like before, York rallied back and answered with two goals of its own.

York got on the board courtesy of a goal by Kelly Curran (North Massapequa, N.Y. / Plainedge), her first of the season, on a free position shot.

A little more than two minutes later, Gina Bieneman (Baltimore, Md. / Institute of Notre Dame) caused a turnover while the Diplomats (1-0) were attempting a clear. The turnover proved costly for F&M as Allison Kolacy (Rockaway, N.J. / Morris Knolls) tied the game with her second goal of the season on the ensuing possession.

Two minutes after the Spartans tied the game, the Diplomats ripped off three unanswered goals in a span of 3:41 to put themselves ahead 5-2 with 13:41 left in the first half.

York responded with at free-position goal by Kolacy, her second of the day, with 5:58 reaming in the first half.

F&M would not let York up for air and was determined to extend the lead as the Diplomats tacked on two more goals before the end of the first half, including a momentum-building tally with 1:28 left in the first half.

Coming out of the locker room facing a 7-3 deficit, the Spartans did the best thing they could and that was to score early. After Megan Strauch (Baltimore, Md. / Perry Hall) won the draw control to open the second half, York went in the offensive zone and tallied a goal 45 seconds into the half on its third free-position attempt of the game, this time by Sarah Castle (Annapolis, Md. / Annapolis Area Christian).

It seemed as though the Spartans could climb back into the game, especially with the whole second half still left to play. However, York wouldn't score its next goal until 3:38 left in the game and after had F&M tacked on two more goals.

The 7-for-13 conversion rate on clear attempts in the second half by York doomed the Spartan's chances at a comeback as they drew even with the Diplomats in almost every other category in the second half. The Diplomats, who went 8-for-10 in the second half on clear attempts, owned most of the possession through the second half and kept the Spartans under duress.

The Diplomats out-shot York 22-16 while the two teams drew even in draw controls (8-8) and turnovers (19-19).

The Spartans will face No. 16 St. John Fisher on Tuesday as the two teams travel to Puerto Rico to faceoff at 10:00 a.m. York's next game on home soil will be on Saturday, March 7 against No. 18 Ithaca at Kinsley Field. 

Megan Strauch photo courtesy of Derek Behrenshausen – Asst. Director of Athletic Communications