ST. CHARLES, MO. – In the opening round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Women's Lacrosse Tournament, the No. 3 seeded Regis University women's lacrosse team fell to the No. 2 seeded Lindenwood University Lions 14-9 on Friday afternoon. 

The quest for the 2021 NCAA National Championship fell short after Regis looked to avenge their only loss of the season which came at the hands of Lindenwood in the first game of the season. 
 
How It Happened: It was a very uncharacteristic beginning to the contest for the Rangers as the offense could not find a way to get the ball on their side of the field. The defense kept the Lions from scoring on several occasions, but the ball kept finding Lindenwood sticks. Senior Elle Crawford made three saves in the first five minutes, and the defense caused four turnovers before several uncharacteristic turnovers from RU gave the ball back to the Lions. 
 
Lindenwood finally broke through the defense, netting the first two goals of the game before Regis could take one shot. Despite a valiant effort from Crawford in between the pipes, the home team went up 3-0. Senior Andrea Macalalad made a cut and received a pass from sophomore Gabby Rothermund for the first Rangers' goal of the game, chipping into the Lindenwood lead. After another goal from the Lions, senior Jessica Berg scored her first goal of the game, and then junior Alexis Parker netted her first to cut the lead to one, 3-4, with 6:14 remaining in the first half. LU scored two goals to end the half and held a 6-3 lead at halftime. 
 
The second half was much different than the first half as there was a lot more scoring. Unfortunately, it was the Lions who did most of the scoring. Trailing 7-3, Parker and junior Maya Quigley scored back-to-back goals to cut the lead down to two, 5-7, but the home team countered with five-straight goals for their largest lead of the game, 12-5. Senior Kyleigh Peoples did not register a point in the game until the 16:08 mark of the second half when she netted her first goal. She scored again a few minutes later, but at that point Regis was trailing 7-13. Quigley found Parker on the next possession and Parker beat the Lions' goalie for her third goal, bringing the score to 8-13. Lindenwood scored a shorthanded goal with 5:55 left in the game, and the final goal of the game was scored by Parker, her fourth of the game. The final five minutes of the game went scoreless and the Lions advanced to the Midwest Regional Championship with a 14-9 win over the Rangers. 
 
Game Notes: Parker led RU with five points in the game, scoring four times and assisting on one. Peoples had two goals, Quigley added a goal and an assist while also causing one turnover and scooping up three ground balls. Berg led the defensive effort with two caused turnovers as she, Crawford and junior Sydney Landdeck each tallied two ground balls apiece. Berg (7) and Rothermund (4) combined for all 11 draw controls for RU. 
 
For the second game in a row, Crawford (L, 14-2) made 10 saves as the netminder, keeping her team in the game for as long as she could. She was a brick wall in the opening minutes of the game, and her solid play continued throughout. 
 
Up Next for the Rangers: Unfortunately, the 2021 season comes to an end for the Regis University women's lacrosse team. The team finishes the season 14-2, winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) regular season title and RMAC Tournament Championship. Head coach, Sarah Kellner, guided her team to their fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. The returning players and the incoming class of new recruits will look at this season as something to continue to build on in 2022 and beyond.