Photo courtesy of IUP Athletic Communications

INDIANA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team dropped a 20-8 decision on the road at Indiana University (Pa.) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division contest that featured two of the top six teams in the Atlantic Region Saturday at George P. Miller Stadium.
 
The Rock and the Crimson Hawks entered the game as two of the six teams listed in the first set of NCAA Atlantic Region rankings that were announced earlier this week. The win bolsters IUP's postseason resume and improves its record to 11-4 overall and 9-1 in PSAC games. Slippery Rock slips to 9-6 overall and 5-5 in PSAC West games, but remains in third place in the PSAC West by a full game after Mercyhurst also lost Saturday at Seton Hill.
 
Indiana won the first four draw controls and jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first quarter, forcing SRU to play from behind from the opening minutes. The Crimson Hawks would extend the lead to 11-4 heading to halftime and outscored SRU 6-1 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. It was a drastically different game than the first meeting between the teams, when IUP escaped with a 10-9 win back in March at SRU.
 
Slippery Rock's two goalies and defense struggled to solve the IUP shooters all day, recording just five saves on 25 shots on goal. On the other side of the field, the SRU attackers struggled to hit the cage, firing eight of 22 total shots off target.
 
IUP finished the game with advantages of 32-22 in total shots and 19-14 in ground balls. Both teams grabbed 15 draw controls and had similar turnover numbers. SRU turned it over 17 times and went 10-of-14 on clear attempts, while IUP had 15 turnovers and went 17-of-19 on the clear.
 
Slippery Rock was led by Charleigh Rondeau with one goal and three assists to go along with seven draw controls and three ground balls. Rachel Mahoney and Brooke Wisniewski each scored two goals to cap the multiple point scorers.
 
Lauren Searles, Camryn Whipple and Eryn Little each scored one goal to round out the point scorers.
 
Gillian O'Rourke played just shy of 38 total minutes in goal with appearances in both halves. She allowed 12 goals and made two saves to pick up the loss. Izzie Sutton played just over 22 minutes in the second and third quarters and allowed eight goals while making three saves.
 
Indiana was led by Chantal Jimenez with a game-high seven goals and Jordan Kulp with two goals and four assists. Maddy Schramm made six saves and allowed five goals in just shy of 53 minutes in goal to pick up the win.
 
Slippery Rock will look to get back in the win column when it travels to Edinboro Wednesday with a chance to lock up a PSAC playoff spot. The Rock can clinch a tournament berth with a win at Edinboro AND a loss by Mercyhurst at Gannon. If both SRU and Mercyhurst win Wednesday, next Saturday's game between the Lakers and The Rock at SRU will determine the final playoff spot in the division.
 
 
 
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