ERIE, Pa. – In a game that featured a traditional Erie snowstorm rolling through McConnell Family Stadium in the second half, the Gannon University women's lacrosse team fell to the visiting Bloomsburg Huskies in its home opener, 20-9. The Golden Knights kept the game relatively close before the weather deteriorated, closing to within a single goal after Caroline Stevens (Syracuse, N.Y./Liverpool) scored with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter. Bloomsburg would score eight of the next 10 goals, however, to take a commanding lead into the second half. With the win, Bloomsburg improves to 3-1 while the Knights' overall record moves to 2-2.
 
Gannon out-shot Bloomsburg 8-6 in the first quarter, forcing four saves from Huskies goalie Lauren Foley, and only trailed 17-15 in total shots at halftime—although Bloomsburg's attack would open a 35-22 shot advantage for the entire game. The Huskies also led Gannon in shots on goal (28-16), ground balls (22-19), and turnovers (25-24). Both teams earned sixteen draw controls, with Gannon's Macy Hepditch (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) securing a game-high nine.
 
McKenna Woodworth (Horseheads, N.Y./Horseheads) scored four goals for the Knights, increasing her team-high season total to 14 in just four games. Caroline Stevens (Syracuse, N.Y./Liverpool) (two goals against Bloomsburg) and Rachel Tufts (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (one) have both scored seven total goals in 2022, second-most on the squad. The only other Knights to find the net versus Bloom were sophomore Skyler Parsons (Reading, Pa./Exeter Twp.) (her first of the season) and freshman Addey Bischof (Erie, Pa./McDowell) (her first career collegiate goal.) Gannon goalie Cheyenne Jess (Stratford, N.J./Sterling) played the entire contest and made eight saves.
 
Parsons' goal was Gannon's first of the game—tying it 1-1—and the team would not score again until the second quarter. Tufts fired in a strike to make it 5-2 with 10 minutes left to play, and Bischof and Stevens added goals of their own to make it three straight for the Knights as they closed within a goal, 5-4. Bloomsburg responded with a trio of goals to push the lead to 8-4, and while Woodworth and Stevens scored in the midst of a flurry of late action in the second quarter, Bloomsburg used three consecutive Anny Kalish goals to extend its lead to 14-6 early in the third quarter. Macy Hepditch (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) fed Woodworth for a goal in response—and McKenna would add two more down the stretch in the third quarter—but it was not enough to catch the Huskies.
 
Gannon remains at home for its next home contest, scheduled for Wednesday, March 16 at 2:00 p.m. at McConnell Family Stadium, as the Knights welcome Lock Haven University in conference play.