SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College women's lacrosse team fell just short in its season and Northeast-10 Conference opener, 9-8, to No. 17 Stonehill College on Thursday, February 22, 2018.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score:Stonehill 9, AIC 8
Location:Ronald J. Abdow Field, Springfield, Massachusetts
Records:AIC opens its season at 0-1 and 0-1 in NE10 play; Stonehill goes to 1-0 and 1-0 in NE10 action.

STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Brittany Hutchison: Three goals, two assists, three ground balls,
Mary Bates: Three goals
Emilee Giacondino: One goal, six shots
Brianna O'Brien: One goal, five shots
Allison Roy: Six caused turnovers, four ground balls
Jessica Fontana: Four ground balls, three caused turnovers
Chelsea Davis: Loss (0-1), nine saves, eight ground balls, two caused turnovers

Stonehill:
Kaitlin Healey: Four goals, nine shots
Linna Jalinskas: Two goals, one assist, three caused turnovers
Logan Snelling: One goal, one assist
Taylor Shannahan: Nine caused turnovers, 10 ground balls
Bailey Grant: Win (1-0), eight saves, three ground balls

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Three minutes and 15 seconds into the contest, freshman attack Emilee Giacondino scored to get the Yellow Jackets on the board first. At the 19:34 mark of the first half, AIC would increase its lead to 2-0 after a goal from freshman midfielder Brianna O'Brien.
• In the next 2:27 of the game, the Skyhawks would receive goals from Kaitlin Healey and Linna Jalinskas to tie the game up at 2 apiece. Senior attack Brittany Hutchison would give the Yellow Jackets the lead yet again and allow the team to go into halftime with a 3-2 advantage.
• It only took Stonehill 41 seconds into the second half to tie the game up, off another score from Jalinskas.
• Two more goals from Healey in the next 3:10 of the game would give the Skyhawks a 5-3 lead. Minutes later, with Stonehill being a man down, AIC capitalized with a goal from junior attacker Mary Bates. The third tie of the game would then occur when Hutchison notched her second goal of the game to make it 5-5.
• In only a matter of 6:47, the Skyhawks would scored four consecutive times in order to build a 9-5 cushion over the Yellow Jackets.
• Late into the contest, AIC would show their ability to fight back with three straight goals to get within one point of the lead, with Hutchison scoring and Bates netting two to give both hat tricks.
• On the Yellow Jackets' final possession, Stonehill was able to force a turnover and hang on for the 9-8 victory.

GAME NOTES:

• Hutchison matched her career-high in points with five on Thursday night. Hutchison had a five-point night last season against Southern New Hampshire in an overtime win on April 23, including the game winning goal.
• Bates has now notched her second career hat trick. Her first time doing so came in a win over Southern Connecticut last season on April 26.
• Freshmen midfielder Brianna O'Brien had five of the Yellow Jackets' nine draw controls.

UP NEXT:

• The Yellow Jackets will continue the start of their season against nationally ranked opponents when they take on No.1 Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y. on Wednesday, February 28 at 6 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC women's lacrosse team, follow @AICwlax on Twitter and @AIC_womens_lacrosse on Instagram, and like AIC Women's Lacrosse on Facebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow @AICAthletics on Twitter and Instagram, and like AIC Yellow Jackets on Facebook.