Women's lacrosse rallies but falls short in 11-8 loss at Hiram

HIRAM, Ohio – Olivet College rallied from a 5-2 halftime deficit to take an 8-6 lead before Hiram (Ohio) College scored the final five goals to beat the Comets, 11-8, in a non-conference women's lacrosse contest this afternoon at the Charles A. Henry Field in Hiram, Ohio.

The Terriers netted the first goal of the game. Freshman Nina Morssinkhof (Utrecht, Netherlands / St. Banifatius) scored twice to put Olivet ahead 2-1 at the 16:49 mark of the opening half. Hiram ended the half by scoring four consecutive goals for the 5-2 halftime lead.

Junior Mackenzie Inman (Union City) cut the Terrier lead down to two, 5-3. Hiram went back up three, 6-3, before the Comets scored five straight goals to gain the 8-6 lead. During that scoring run, Inman and junior Geri Merrell (Battle Creek/Lakeview) each had two goals, and junior Taylor Guarnaccia (East Lansing/Haslett) had one.

The Terriers tied the game at 8-8 on two goals in a span of 37 seconds. Hiram scored what proved to be the game-winning goal with 6:21 left in the contest. The Terriers' last two goals were not scored until the final two minutes of the game.

Inman led the Comets with three goals and nine total shots. Merrell and Morrsinkhof each had two goals, while Guarnaccia collected two points on one goal and one assist. Freshman Xavier Vance (West Bloomfield) was the losing keeper, as she recorded 12 saves on 31 shots.

Olivet is back in action Friday afternoon when it hosts Augsburg (Minn.) College. Game time at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet is 4 p.m.