NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. The American International College field hockey squad jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but ultimately fell to Merrimack, 5-2, in non-conference actionthis evening from Martone-Mejail Field.

AIC falls to 1-3 on the year while the Warriors improve to 2-1 on the season.

Junior Katie Lombardozzi (Leominster, Mass.) potted the opening tally on a penalty corner as she tipped home the initial shot by senior Emily Kollar (Lehighton, Pa.) in just the 3rd minute for the 1-0 edge.

The Jackets built on that lead as senior Kaylin Harbin (Stroudsburg, Pa.) found junior Taylor Ruscillo (Carle Place, N.Y.) for her team-leading third goal of the season in the 29th minute.

Merrimack took over from there going on to score five unanswered tallies for the final score including a natural hat-trick from sophomore Taylor Simpson (York, Maine).

Simpson cut the deficit in half just 75 ticks after Ruscillo's score and later tied the contest on a penalty stroke in the 46th minute before potting the winning score in the 65th minute.

The Warriors added a pair of late scores to finish the final 5:08 of game time with three goals to lead to the end result.

Senior net-minder Ainslee Penfield (Greenfield, Mass.) stopped 16 shots in the defeat to fall to 1-3 on the year while her counterpart, senior Madison Davis (San Jose, Calif.) made a trio of saves in the second half after coming off the bench to earn her first victory of the season.

The Warriors outshot the visitors 28-11 including a 21-7 edge in shots on target while also holding the commanding 14-6 lead in penalty corners.

AIC returns to action on Saturday as they host Southern Connecticut in their home opener at 1 p.m.