INDIANA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team dropped its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division opener at Indiana University (Pa.) Sunday afternoon by a 12-8 score.
 
The Rock (1-1, 0-1 PSAC) led 3-2 midway through the first half before IUP (1-1, 1-0) closed the period on a 3-0 run to take a 5-3 lead into the break.
 
Slippery Rock rallied with a 5-2 push to open the second half and cut the deficit to 8-7 with just under 16 minutes to play, but the Crimson Hawks answered with a 3-0 push to put the game out of reach.
 
The Rock finished with a 27-25 advantage in total shots and a 25-23 edge in ground balls, while IUP posted a 13-9 advantage in draw controls. SRU was 19-of-26 on clear attempts, while IUP went 19-of-22.
 
Slippery Rock got all of its scoring from three players with Emily Benham and Jamie DiCarlo each scoring a hat trick and Hayley Pimentel adding two goals.

Charleigh Rondeau registered four caused turnovers to pace the defensive effort.
 
Gillian O'Rourke made nine saves in goal to even her record at 1-1 this year. Her counterpart, Lauren Piecknick from IUP, made 13 saves in the win.
 
The Crimson Hawks got four goals and three assists from Jordan Kulp and four goals from Leah Hunter.
 
Slippery Rock will return to action Wednesday afternoon with a 4 p.m. home game against No. 22 Mercyhurst University.


To stay up to date with all that happens at The Rock, follow our official athletic communication accounts on Twitter (@Rock_Athletics), Facebook (RockAthletics), Instagram (RockAthletics) and Snapchat (@RockAthletics).