SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts The American International College women's lacrosse team put up a fight the whole way in a 17-7 loss to No. 14 Merrimack College at Abdow Field on Tuesday, April 3 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score:No. 14 Merrimack 17, AIC 7
Location: Ronald J. Abdow Field, Springfield, Massachusetts
Records: AIC falls to 3-8 and 0-7 in the NE10; Merrimack rises to 7-3, with a 5-2 conference mark.

STATS LEADERS:
AIC:
Mary Bates: Two goals, two assists
Lauren Witherspoon: Two goals, four ground balls, one caused turnover, two draw controls
Jessica Fontana: Two goals, two caused turnovers, seven draw controls
Mikayla Demanche: One goal, three draw controls
Chelsea Davis: Loss (3-8), 13 saves, seven ground balls

Merrimack:
Ally DaCosta: Five assists, two ground balls
Amber Feminella: Five goals, one caused turnover
Haley Bartlett: Four goals, one assist, two ground balls, two caused turnovers
Olivia Colletti: Three goals, one assist, three ground balls, two caused turnovers
Lauren Trepany: Win (3-0), 12 saves, five ground balls

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Haley Bartlett opened the scoring for Merrimack at the 1:57 mark, but neither team could find the net for over four minutes after that; junior attacker Mary Bates broke the scoring drought and tied the game 1-1 at 6:02, and 59 seconds later, junior midfielder Mikayla Demanche struck to put AIC in the lead.
• Bartlett scored again just before the 10-minute mark of the frame, but AIC gained back the lead at 12:33 as senior defender Jessica Fontana was set up for a goal by Bates. Bartlett completed the hat trick just 29 seconds later, however, tying the game.
• The score remained even for nearly seven minutes before Amber Feminella potted the go-ahead goal at 19:54 of the period, starting a strong run for the Warriors that saw the visiting squad take a 7-3 lead into the locker room. Feminella would score twice in the first 2:08 of the second half as well to extend the lead.
• AIC tried to climb back into the game and managed two quick tallies; Bates fired home a goal at 4:13, and Fontana followed on a strong run at 5:49 to cut the deficit to 9-5. The Warriors responded with a four-goal run of their own over 5:58 of play to build the lead back up.
• Junior midfielder Lauren Witherspoon stopped the bleeding by scoring at 14:21 on a crease roll after taking a pass from Bates on a free position attempt; after a Merrimack goal, Witherspoon was at it again, winning a draw to herself, barreling down the left side of the field to behind the net, then turning and going through a defender at the left of the cage before firing high right for her second of the night at 19:14.
• Merrimack scored the final three of the night for the 17-7 final.

RECORDS THREATENED:

• A significant number of individual and team season records might fall by the end of the campaign:
• Sophomore goalkeeper Chelsea Davis has 53 ground balls; the team record is 67, set by Lissy Doherty in 2013.
• Redshirt sophomore defender Allison Roy has 25 caused turnovers; the team record is 29, set by Cheyenne Carden in 2015.
• The team has collected 249 ground balls; the 2010 squad had 345.
• As a unit, the team has caused 139 turnovers; the record is 180, set in 2009 and tied in 2010.
• The Yellow Jackets have fired 317 shots; the 2016 group had 450 shots.

UP NEXT:

• The Yellow Jackets close the week with a Saturday night showdown against New Haven on April 7 at 7 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC women's lacrosse team, follow @AICwlax on Twitter and @AIC_womens_lacrosse onInstagram, and likeAIC Women's LacrosseonFacebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticsonTwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.