NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The No. 8 University of New Haven women's lacrosse team (3-3, 2-2 NE10) dropped its second straight game on Saturday, falling on the road against the No. 21 Merrimack Warriors, 13-8. Leading the Blue and Gold on the day was sophomore attack Caroline Maher (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) who completed her fourth hat trick of the season through six games.
Overall, Maher was one of four Chargers who found the goal against the Warriors with junior midfielder Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) and freshman midfielder Emily Holland (Londonderry, N.H./Londonderry) each completing a multi-goal outing with two apiece, while sophomore attack Julia Jette (Franklin, Mass./Franklin) rounded out the scoring with one goal.
Reh joined Maher in capping off the day with three points as she was one of three Chargers who finished with an assist, joined by senior attack Jessica Mazliah (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) and Jette who closed out the afternoon with a pair of points.
Sophomore Gianna Guerra (Thiells, N.Y./North Rockland) played the full distance between the pipes, her second time this season playing the full 60 minutes. She closed out the game with 11 saves, her second-straight and third time this season with double figure stops.
Merrimack opened up the scoring when they converted on the opening possession, scoring the first goal of the afternoon just 39 seconds into the action. The Chargers didn't waste any time of their own, winning the ensuing draw control and converting the game-tying goal just 47 second later when Maher scored unassisted.
The Chargers would keep the pressure on, scoring their second goal just over five minutes into the action on a free position attempt as Reh provided New Haven's only lead of the contest. Merrimack responded to that deficit by rattling off three unanswered goals and seven of the next eight in the game to take an 8-3 lead.
The lone New Haven goal in that stretch came just past the midway points of the half when Maher converted the Blue and Gold's second free position score of the day. Reh would score once more in the first half thanks to an assist from Jette as the Chargers trailed at intermission 10-4.
Coming out of the halftime break, New Haven made a push, cutting their halftime deficit in half scoring the first three goals of the period, all within the first five minutes. All three of those goals came from different players as Jette provided the first point of the half less than one minute in when she broke through with an unassisted tally. Holland and Maher provided the next two New Haven scores which came just 32 seconds apart.
Merrimack responded with its own three-goal rally, regaining a six-goal advantage at the midpoint of the second half, while the two teams would combine for just one goal over the final 15 minutes, that coming from New Haven. The final point of the day came with just over eight minutes remaining when Holland and Mazliah connected for a man-up opportunity.
New Haven will continue a two-game road stretch on Wednesday afternoon when they complete their longest road trip in NE10 action with a venture to Syracuse, N.Y. to take on the Le Moyne Dolphins. Opening draw against Le Moyne, who entered this week ranked No. 4 in the IWLCA national poll, is slated for 1:00 p.m.
