Battle of the birds
Falcons drop spring break finale to Cardinals
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ORLANDO – The Notre Dame Women's Lacrosse team dropped their third game in a row in a 9-8 loss to St. John Fisher College (NY) on Thursday. The loss now puts NDC at 0-3 this season while St. John Fisher opens their season at 1-0.

The Falcons got on the board first to pick up a 2-0 lead by the 20:00 mark. April Pegler (Jr/Bryn Mawr, PA) and Jenna Schuerman (Jr/Savage, MN) were responsible for the first two Falcon scores, both off of helpers from Gena McPherson (So/Brampton, ONT). The Cardinals didn't score until 17:53 when Jill Lockwood (So/Clarence, NY) snuck a shot past Falcon keeper Kylie Flett (Sr/Adelaide, Australia).

St. John Fisher would use the goal as momentum behind a four-goal run to muster a 4-2 lead until the final six minutes of the opening half. Staci Myrup (So/Murray, UT) picked up a caused turnover and ran coast-to-coast to get within one of the Cardinals to bring the score to 4-3. After a series of midfield battles, the Falcons and Cardinals stalemated to a 5-5 tie as the first half clock expired.

With patience and possession, Fisher was able to regain and extend their lead to three with 14 minutes remaining in the game. NDC attempted one final rally with two scores coming from McPherson, including the game tying goal with just 2:38 left and another from Schuerman but it wasn't enough for NDC as the Cardinals sealed the win with the gamewinner at 2:04 from Laurie Quackenbush (Sr/Penn Yan, NY).

NDC scoring was lead by McPherson who finished with four goals and two assists. On the defensive end of the field, Myrup not only picked up a score, she finished with a season-high six caused turnovers and three groundballs. Flett finished the day with 13 saves.

The Falcons return to Cleveland on Saturday but don't return to the playing field until Tuesday, Mar. 11 when they travel to Springfield, Ohio to take on Wittenberg. The game is scheduled for 4:30pm/.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

CENTURY MARK: Jenna Schuerman's three points (two goals, one assist) against the Cardinals were just enough for her to be the first Falcon laxer to reach 100 career points in the history of the four year program. Shuerman's 100 points are comprised of 64 goals and 36 assists.

FLORIDA FALLOUT: The three losses this week (Feb. 25-29) send the Falcons to an 0-3 start in 2008. The loss against St. John Fisher puts the Falcons at 1-8 all-time in the Sunshine State. The last time the Falcons won in Florida was against Salve Regina on Mar. 8, 2007.

CAUSE A COMMOTION: Despite the losses, the six caused turnovers from Staci Myrup move her to second place in single game caused turnovers. Myrup holds the record with eight, set back on Mar. 5, 2007 in a 12-5 loss to Saint Anselm (NH).