SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season with a 12-6 defeat against No. 13 West Chester University Saturday in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
 
Slippery Rock drops to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in PSAC play with the loss, while West Chester remains unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 1-0 in league play.
 
The Rock had all the momentum early in the game after scoring three unanswered goals in the first five minutes and chasing West Chester's starting goalie after just 6:27. That goalie swap came after a Golden Rams' timeout and the team responded after the change, tallying three goals of their own to tie it at 3-3 with 18:11 to play in the first half.
 
SRU answered to take a 4-3 lead with 9:08 to play in the opening period, but West Chester tallied two goals in the final six minutes to take its first lead of the game, a 5-4 margin that would stick until halftime.
 
The second half belonged to the Golden Rams, who won all 10 draw controls and outscored SRU 7-2 over the final 30 minutes.
 
The Rock struggled with possession for most of the day, finishing with 28 turnovers, 15 failed clears on 31 clear attempts and just three draw controls.
 
The final deficit could have been larger if it weren't for the stellar play of SRU goalie Emily Bitka, who made 24 saves and held West Chester to just 3-of-14 on free position shot attempts. Bitka was busy, as the Golden Rams finished the day with advantages of 44-16 in total shots and 36-11 in shots on goal.
 
West Chester also posted advantages of 17-3 in draw controls and 30-28 in ground balls.
 
The Rock attack was led by Bre Vodde with one goal and one assist. Ally Culhane, Tia Torchia, Kelly Muenster, ShyAnne Toomer and Tori Penders each scored one goal and Jasey Sanders handed out one assist to cap the scorers.
 
West Chester was led by Tatum Altman with four goals and two assists and Maggie Stella and Alex Wendig with three goals and one assist each. Nicole Martins started the game in goal and made no saves before being pulled at the 6:27 mark. Julianne Clemens played the rest of the way and earned the win, making five saves and allowing three goals in just under 54 minutes between the posts.
 
Slippery Rock will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season and get on the board in the PSAC when it travels to No. 25 Lock Haven University Tuesday for a 4 p.m. game.
 
 
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