CLERMONT, FL – The RIT (2-4) women's lacrosse team dropped a heartbreaker, losing to Williams College (3-2), 17-16 in non-conference action from Clermont, Florida on Monday morning.  

RIT trailed 5-1 in the first half, but rallied to tie the score and held a 15-10 lead into the second half. Williams rallied with seven straight goals over an 11:39 span in the second half to take the lead. RIT scored with 43 seconds to play to make it a one-goal game, but could not get the ball back.

RIT was led by the duo of Sage Sarkis (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima) and Emily Livecchi (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy). Sarkis finished with eight points on five goals and three assists, and Livecchi tallied six goals and had an assist. Corrina Mandell (Corning, NY/Corning East) added three goals, while Maegen Schmauder and Sammy Ward (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) each scored a goal.

Jordan Guerrieri (Rochester, NY/Our Lady of Mercy) led RIT with four ground balls, while Ward had two caused turnovers. Mandell led RIT with nine draw controls, while Sarkis had eight. Sophia Wojnovich (Manlius, NY/Fayetteville-Manlius) got the start in net. She took the loss, making four saves.

"The offense is really starting to gel," said RIT head coach Jeff McGuigan. "We really need to work on finishing games and stop letting teams back into them."

Shots were 35-30 in favor of the Tigers, who also won the ground ball battle, 15-14. The Tigers won 22 draw controls, and were 11-of-12 on clearing attempts. RIT went just 2-for-9 on free position attempts.

Jenna Chodos led Williams with seven goals. Katie Gollop tallied five points on two goals and three assists, and Suzanna Penikis tallied four goals. Margaret Draper got the start in net, making four saves in the first half. Ana Alvarenga played the second half and got the win, making five saves.

RIT took an early lead when Livecchi scored the first of her seven goals on the day at 26:27 of the first half. Williams answered with five straight goals, taking a 5-1 lead on a free position goal from Kailie Saudek with 15:37 to play in the half. Chodos scored three of the Ephs five goals in that stretch.

Sarkis broke the Williams run with her first goal of the game with 14:54 to play in the opening half. After a Penikis goal made it 6-2 Williams, the Tigers went on a goal run of their own, scoring four straight to tie the score at 6-6 on Livecchi's goal with 7:47 to play before halftime. She scored three of RIT's four goals in the run, while Mandell added a free position goal.

Chodos and Micaela Dussel sandwiched a pair of Williams goals in between a Schmauder goal, who scored off an assist from Livecchi with 2:24 to play making it 8-7 Williams at the half.

Livecchi and Sarkis each scored to open the second-half scoring, taking a 9-8 lead on Sarkis' second goal of the game. With the score tied 10-10, RIT ran off five straight goals, taking a 15-10 lead on a goal from Livecchi off an assist from Sarkis with 16:07 to play. Sarkis scored twice in the run, while Mandell and Sammy Ward (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker) each tallied a goal.

The Ephs responded with seven straight goals, taking a 17-15 lead on an Alyssa Maddalone goal with 2:02 to play in regulation. Sarkis pulled RIT to within a goal on her goal with 43 seconds to play, but the Tigers could not find a way to score the equalizer and send the game into overtime.

The Tigers return to action on Thursday, March 24 when the Tigers face Farmingdale State in Clermont, Florida at 10 a.m.