SOUTH EASTON, Massachusetts The American International College women's lacrosse team fell to Stonehill College by a score of 14-9 in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup on Tuesday, March 12.

FAST FACTS:
Final Score: Stonehill 14, AIC 9
Records: AIC drops to 1-5 overall and 0-3 in NE10 action, while the Skyhawks improve to 4-1, with a 1-1 conference mark.
Location: W.B. Mason Stadium, North Easton, Massachusetts

STAT LEADERS:
AIC:
Mikayla Demanche: Three goals, two assists
Devin Coulter: Two goals, three ground balls, two caused turnovers
Brittany Hutchison: Two goals
Lauren Witherspoon: Five ground balls
Mackenzie MacLeod: Five ground balls
Mary Bates: Two assists, three ground balls
Brianna O'Brien: One goal, seven draw controls
Chelsea Davis: Loss (1-5), 10 saves, two caused turnovers, six ground balls

Stonehill:
Jennifer Wheaton: Five goals, four assists
Shannon Hughes: Five goals three ground balls
Emma Sullivan: Two goals, two assists, four draw controls
Bailey Grant: Win (4-1), four saves on nine shots in 30:00
Kaleigh Wright: No decision (0-0), six saves on 10 shots in 30:00


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The two teams traded goals in the early going, as senior attacker Brittany Hutchison scored at the 3:52 mark after a Stonehill goal at 2:30 by Emma Sullivan. Senior midfielder Mikayla Demanche assisted on Hutchison's goal, and then struck herself at 4:33 to give AIC a 2-1 lead. Stonehill responded with a free position goal to tie the game again at 5:55.
• The Skyhawks regained the lead at the 9:27 mark as Sullivan netted her second goal of the game. The home side then doubled the lead at 14:48 thanks to a free position goal by Shannon Hughes.
• After a yellow card against the Skyhawks, AIC had several chances to score, but Hutchison and then sophomore midfielder Devin Coulter were both denied by Skyhawks goalkeeper Bailey Grant.
• Both teams struggled with possession before Stonehill finally converted a chance, as Jennifer Wheaton tallied in front of the cage at 21:47. Wheaton added another at 22:59 to extend the Skyhawks lead to 6-2. Sullivan nearly made it 7-2, but junior goalkeeper Chelsea Davis made a fantastic stop to keep her team in it, which in turn allowed Demanche to score on a free-position shot at 27:05 on the following possession.
• Stonehill converted a free-position bid at 28:31, as Wheaton fired into the top corner on a chance to complete the hat trick. However, a late yellow card on Stonehill gave AIC an opportunity to get back into the game before the half, and six seconds later, Coulter converted at 29:30 on a pass from senior attacker Mary Bates, bringing the score to 7-4, and after sophomore midfielder Brianna O'Brien won the ensuing draw, Demanche was able to cut through the defense and score with 11 seconds remaining in the frame.
• Out of the break, Wheaton converted a chance just :23 into the frame, but AIC countered at 4:31 with a goal by freshman attacker Molly Leavitt. Stonehill then had a man-up after a yellow card, but Davis stymied a bid by Wheaton to keep the Skyhawks from increasing the lead.
• The Skyhawks netted a free-position goal to regain their three-goal edge at 7:40, and then added another at 7:53 to extend the advantage to 10-6. That was the last of the scoring for almost nine minutes, when Hughes scored for Stonehill at 16:50. However, AIC immediately responded, as Hutchison one-timed a shot home at 17:11 on a pass from behind the net by sophomore attacker Reagan Nichols. AIC appeared to score again on the following possession, but it was waved off on a charging call, and the Skyhawks then scored at 17:57 on the following man-up situation.
• AIC kept battling, and took advantage of a turnover by the Skyhawks to score, as Bates dished to Coulter for a breakaway tally at 21:57 to cut the deficit to 12-8. Stonehill added a goal late, as did O'Brien, but another Skyhawk goal in the final minute sealed the 14-9 result.

CLOSING IN ON 100:

• Bates and Demanche are both approaching the milestone of 100 career points.
• With her five points in the contest, Demanche is now at 96career points.
• Bates' two assists give her 91 total points.

NEXT UP:

• The Yellow Jackets close out nonconference play with a home matchup against Dominican on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

• For more updates about the AIC women's lacrosse team, follow@AICwlaxon Twitter and@AIC_womens_lacrosseonInstagram, and likeAIC Women's Lacrosse on Facebook. For updates on all AIC Yellow Jackets teams, follow@AICAthleticson TwitterandInstagram, and likeAIC Yellow JacketsonFacebook.