The Emerson women’s lacrosse team fell to the Wheaton Lyons on March 26th, 19-9, extending Emerson’s NEWMAC losing streak to three games.

The loss dropped the Lions’ all-time record against Wheaton to 1-10, with their only win dating back to 2016.

Despite the loss, the Lions had a strong first half. Wheaton started quickly, notching the first goal less than three minutes into the game. The Lions responded just one minute later—sophomore midfielder and attacker Ava Dellicompagni assisted senior midfielder Ava Selby for a goal.

It was a fast and furious start from both sides, as Wheaton scored another goal a minute later. The Lyons quickly found their rhythm and confidence, scoring their third goal with seven minutes remaining in the first quarter. The Lions started to look a bit rushed afterward, as Dellicompagni received Emerson’s first green card. While green cards are often warnings or shorter penalties, this infraction carried a full three-minute man-down situation for Emerson.

Wheaton missed several shot attempts during the remainder of the first quarter, while Emerson tried to regain momentum. They actively looked to push the ball on offense, often scrambling for ground balls to reset their possessions, but unfortunately, many of those opportunities were lost to unforced errors. Two Lions were penalized with 4:30 left in the quarter: First-year attacker Laura Lovell received a yellow card, and senior attacker Callie Krosin was issued a green.

Emerson mounted an offensive surge in the final three minutes of the first. After multiple ground ball pickups and repeated shot attempts, the Lions came up empty, ultimately turning the ball over on a shot clock violation.

With exactly one minute left in the quarter, Emerson earned a free position shot, but sophomore defender Miranda Tanguay couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.

Then, with just 19 seconds remaining, Krosin stepped up and found the back of the net, cutting the deficit to 3-2 heading into the second quarter.

The pace intensified in the second quarter as both teams went back and forth on the scoreboard. Dellicompagni won the draw to start the period. Senior midfielder Grace Danehy and Lovell each attempted shots 30 seconds into the frame, but Wheaton tallied its fourth goal two minutes in.

After that goal, both teams hit a scoring drought that lasted nearly four minutes, as defenses tightened and missed opportunities piled up. Emerson earned another free position shot but couldn’t convert.

Wheaton broke the silence with its fifth goal at the nine-minute mark, stretching the lead to 5-2.

Emerson responded with a goal by Selby off a successful clear attempt. But just one minute later, Wheaton struck again, forcing the Lions to call a timeout.

Emerson continued to struggle after the break. Wheaton scored again with four minutes left in the quarter, extending the lead to 7-3.

A successful free position shot by Dellicompagni with four minutes left stopped the bleeding for Emerson. Two minutes later, Lovell added another goal to cut the deficit to 7-5.

Wheaton ended the half with another goal, extending the lead to three with 57 seconds remaining.

“We came out and had a really strong first half. We were really neck and neck with them—definitely our strongest first half of the season so far,” head coach Jessie Koffman said in a postgame interview with The Beacon.

“I am proud that the team came out strong. We stepped it up on many levels all over the field, including the draw, clears and possession. A strong and energetic warm up led to a great first half,” Krosin said.

The third quarter proved to be a turning point, as Wheaton scored six unanswered goals. The Lions struggled to maintain possession—they committed three fouls, turned the ball over five times and received three green cards. Wheaton capitalized on two of its three free-position shot opportunities. Despite solid draw control throughout the game, turnovers and defensive gaps gave Wheaton a nine-point lead heading into the fourth.

“The third quarter was not our best. Again, we still had 100% effort from everyone,” Koffman said. “In the first half, we did a really great job winning the draw, marking up and maintaining possession, but not so much in the second half. Sometimes that’s just the way the cookie crumbles, right?”

The Lions didn’t wave the white flag entirely. The fourth quarter resembled the first half, with both teams trading goals. Emerson began the period with two green cards, giving Wheaton the advantage, and the Lyons scored their fifteenth goal less than one minute in.

After a successful clear, Krosin finally broke through with Emerson’s first goal in two quarters, cutting the score to 15-6 with 12 minutes left.

What followed were three minutes of trading possessions, with both teams pressing but unable to convert until Wheaton found space on the left side of the crease and buried its 16th goal.

Emerson responded with a free-position pass from Selby and a goal by Krosin. Two minutes later, Krosin scored her third goal of the quarter off an assist from Lovell.

Krosin led the Lions with four goals and one assist.

Wheaton added three more goals in the final four minutes. Emerson continued to fight, as first-year attacker Stella Huberlie scored with 1:19 remaining, but the Lions ultimately fell under the weight of the lopsided 19-9 score.

“Looking back at the game, I thought our team really thrived in transition, which shows the effort and strength of all players regardless of position,” Krosin said when asked about a moment that stood out, even if it didn’t show on the scoreboard.

The Lions now sit at 3-5 on the season after losing the nationally ranked Babson on March 29th, and will face UMass Boston at Rotch Field on March 31 at 6 p.m.