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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team battled back from a slow start before settling for a 16-15 defeat to Tiffin University Saturday in non-conference action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
 
Tiffin, which entered the game winless on the year, jumped out of the gates and scored the first four goals. Slippery Rock battled back to trail 11-8 at halftime and then opened the second half with a 4-1 run to tie the game at 12-12 with just under 24 minutes to go.
 
The teams traded scores for the next four goals until it was tied at 14-14 with 17:46 to play, but Tiffin then managed a two-goal push with tallies from Amanda Flotteron to make it 16-14 with 14:16 to play.
 
Slippery Rock cut it to one with a goal from Erin Wilcox with 8:07 to play and got some big defensive stops and saves from Jordan Wagner down the stretch, but could never find the tying goal.
 
The loss drops The Rock to 2-3 overall on the year, while the Dragons improved to 1-6.
 
Possession was the issue for most of the day for Slippery Rock, which struggled to clear the defensive zone. The hosts were just 4-of-11 on the clear in the first half and finished the game with eight failed clear attempts on 17 tries. Conversely, Tiffin was 8-of-9 in the first half and finished the game 14-of-20.
 
Slippery Rock posted advantages of 40-31 in total shots, 31-27 in shots on goal, 21-12 in draw controls and 12-7 in caused turnovers. Tiffin managed a 23-22 edge in ground balls.
 
The Dragons most valuable player on the day ended up being goalkeeper Jessica Bombard, who finished with 16 saves, including two crucial free position saves in the final 10 minutes.
 
Wilcox was dominant for Slippery Rock all day, consistently setting her teammates up to win the draw control and scoring a career-high seven goals. She pulled down three draw controls and caused three turnovers as well.
 
Kaytlin Callaghan matched Wilcox in point production with four goals and three assists and led the team with 11 draw controls. Paige Costantino scored two goals, Jasey Sanders added one goal and one assist and Caitlynn Palladino scored one goal to cap the scorers for SRU.
 
Wagner made a season-high 11 saves and picked up a team-high six ground balls in the loss.
 
Tiffin was paced by Emily Roussell with four goals and two assists and Morgan Sherley with four goals and one assist. Flotteron added three goals and one assist and Gina Abulone handed out four assists.
 
Saturday's game marked the second of five straight home games for Slippery Rock, which will open the conference portion of the schedule Tuesday night when Seton Hill visits Mihalik-Thompson Stadium for a 7 p.m. match.