The St. Lawrence University women's lacrosse team rallied from three goals down to tie the score in the second half against nationally-ranked No. 9 SUNY Geneseo on Friday in Canton, NY. However, a season-high four goals from Tara Basile helped the Knights avoid the upset and defeat the Saints by the score of 11-7.

Geneseo improves to 9-1 on the season after finishing with advantages in shots (25-17), ground balls (21-14) and draw controls (12-8). St. Lawrence, which got goals from seven different players, falls to 4-6 despite 10 saves by goalie Addie Cunningham.

"I was pleased with the way we battled back after falling behind early," said St. Lawrence head coach Jodi Canfield. "However, we turned the ball over at inopportune times which allowed them to capitalize on the offensive end."

Tasha Cornell-Roberts and Regina Rogers each had a game-high three caused turnovers for St. Lawrence, while Emily Haggerty led SUNY Geneseo with four draw controls. The Knights got a six-save performance from goaltender Laura Passamonte.

The visitors built a 3-0 lead behind two goals from Basile and a tally from Hart just 9:48 into the first half. The Saints, who struggled to earn shots throughout the half, finally earned a free position and got on the board at 13:23 when Mackenzie Collins picked up her first of the season to make it a 3-1 game.

After Hart made it 4-1, the Knights appeared poised to head to the locker room with a three goal cushion. However, free position goals by Chloe Knapp and Parker Benedict in the final 30 seconds of the period gave St. Lawrence the momentum heading into the second half trailing 4-3. Knapp cut the lead to two with 29.9 seconds left, and then after the home team won the draw control, Benedict was granted a free position after a defensive three seconds call with only 8.0 seconds left in the period.

St. Lawrence would pull even at 4-4 on another free position goal at 6:41 of the second half, as Abigail Owens scored her sixth of the year. Despite the Saints winning the ensuing draw control, a turnover gave possession to SUNY Geneseo and the Knights capitalized. Lauren Corbett's man-up goal at 8:52 made it 5-4 and sparked a game-high four goal run that pushed Geneseo's cushion to 8-4. Basile, Haggerty and Caroline Buonocore helped open up the big lead for Geneseo midway through the half, as the four goals came in a span of 4:28.

The Saints refused to cave, as Hannah Calvelli and Carly VanTassel scored back-to-back goals to cut their team's deficit in half at 8-6. Calvelli scooped up an errant pass near the crease and beat Passamonte for her ninth of the year, while VanTassel slipped the defense and scored in front to make it a two-goal game with 9:55 remaining.

After Basile and Bailey exchanged goals for a 9-7 Geneseo lead, the visitors would put the game away in the final minutes. Haggerty's 19th of the season came off an unselfish pass from Hart, while Buonocore capped the game scoring with 41 seconds left to bring the game to its final of 11-7.

"Despite the loss, I think we're coming into form heading into our final five games of the regular season," added Coach Canfield. "We're entering the stretch run of the Liberty League schedule and need to play well if we're to secure a spot in the conference tournament."

St. Lawrence will look to earn a key conference win on Tuesday, April 15 when the team travels to Potsdam, NY to take on Clarkson University under the lights at 7:00pm.