ERIE, Pa. - The No. 11 Gannon women's lacrosse team staged a furious second-half rally against No. 2 Lock Haven Wednesday afternoon at Gannon University Field, but was eventually Mother Nature who put a halt to the Lady Knights' upset bid in a snow-shortened 12-8 loss.

Gannon rallied from a 12-3 deficit with five unanswered goals, before officials called the match with 11:53 left in regulation due to unplayable field conditions. After the surrounding area was hit with steady rain throughout the day, the participation turned into a heavy snow late in Wednesday's pre-game. The field was snow covered midway through the first half, causing players on both sides to slip and slide on numerous occasions. Gannon University Field eventually had a couple inches of wet slush on the field by the time the officials called the contest.

The match was declared an official contest since 80 percent (48 minutes) of regulation was played. As a result, Lock Haven remained undefeated at 11-0 overall and 7-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. Gannon fell to 7-4-1 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

Lock Haven seemed to be in cruise control during the first half, rolling to a 9-1 halftime lead. The Bald Eagles scored the first four goals, before Jess Fugate (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) tallied Gannon's first score at the 15:56 mark. The visitors quickly responded with the final five goals of the half to assume an eight-goal advantage at the break. Jessica Pandolf recorded four of Lock Haven's nine first-half goals.

Gannon reversed its fortunes after halftime and dominated the second half. Nikki Schattinger (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) needed only 1:25 to get the Lady Knights on the board, followed by another Fugate tally that cut the deficit to 9-3 one minute and 26 seconds later.

As quickly as Gannon gained the momentum, Lock Haven grabbed it back for a brief period. The Bald Eagles scored three times in the span of 1:33 to push their lead to 12-3.

One goal from being on the wrong end of a running clock, Gannon dug down and dominated the next 10 minutes. The Lady Knights rattled off five straight goals to cut the deficit to 12-8. Fugate and Mary Eshenour (Waterloo, N.Y./Waterloo) each netted a pair of goals during the run. Schattinger accounted for the other score.

Eshenour tied the school's all-time scoring record with her second goal at the 12:29 mark. The score gave her 221 career goals, tying current assistant coach Taryn Millerd's school record.

Thirty-two seconds later, the officials blew the match dead and called it an official contest due to unplayable field conditions.

Fugate led the Gannon offensive unit with four goals. Eshenour and Schattinger split the other four scores. Rachel DerCola (Rochester, N.Y./Brighton) dished out two assists while Kimberly Neagle (Auburn, N.Y./Auburn) had one assist.

Gannon out-shot Lock Haven 26-18, including a 17-5 edge in the second half. Margaret Maslyn (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan Academy) recorded three saves in goal for the Lady Knights.

Head coach Steve Wagner's club returns to action Saturday April 9 at Indiana (Pa.). Game time is scheduled for 1 p.m.

For a complete box score from Wednesday's Gannon-Lock Haven women's lacrosse match, please click here.