ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop lacrosse team struggled offensively late in the second half Thursday as the Eagles fell 15-10 at home to the Vermont Catamounts.

Winthrop falls to 1-7 on the season with the loss while the Catamounts improved to 5-1 on the year.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Eagles and Catamounts played a back-and-forth first half.  Vermont jumped out to a 2-0 lead before the Eagles got on the board via Lauren Morris.  The teams traded goals and the Catamounts led 4-2 with 22:12 on the clock.  Winthrop scored the next two goals from McKenna Blick and Lauren Asher to tie the game at 4-4.

Vermont went back up by one before Morris and Blick scored back-to-back goals to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 6-5 with 10:26 left in the half.  The Catamounts closed the half with three unanswered goals to take an 8-6 lead into the break.

The Catamounts scored 35 seconds into the second half to extend their lead to three goals but Winthrop rallied with three straight tallies, two from Blick and one from Morris, to tie the contest at 9-9 with 21:39 remaining.  The Eagles hit an offensive slump after tying the game, going more than 18 minutes without a goal while the Catamounts scored six straight goals.  Winthrop added one more to bring the final score to 15-10.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
Lauren Morris and McKenna Blick tied for the team lead with four goals each while Morris added two assists and Blick with one.  Lauren Asher and Savanah Paton each added one goal apiece.  Alaina Girani recorded eight saves in the loss.

Winthrop finished the afternoon with 17 shots and scored on all 10 of its shots on goal.  Vermont totaled 29 shots, placing 23 on frame.  The Catamounts won the draw control battle 17-10 and outhustled the Eagles on ground balls 20-16.

WHAT'S UP NEXT
Winthrop hits the road for its next two contests starting with a Saturday matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores.