Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College women's lacrosse team held a six-goal lead in the first half only to see it evaporate in the end as the visiting Big Red of Denison University came storming back to knockoff the Yeowomen, 15-12, on Saturday afternoon at the Austin E. Knowlton Athletics Complex.
 
Senior Maggie Mullard led all scorers tying a career-high with five goals in the setback. Natalie Rauchle and Sara Phister also posted four points each with Rauchle securing a hat trick to run her team-leading goal total to 40. Phister dished out three assists and scored one herself, while rookie Eliza Amber also found the back of the net two times.
 
Between the pipes, senior goalie Alexa L'Insalata played well against constant pressure as she tallied a season-high 15 saves in her 60 minutes of work.
 
The Yeowomen jumped on the Big Red right from the opening draw, scoring the game's first five goals within the opening seven minutes of play. Phister started the string just 54 seconds into the contest. Rauchle would follow with two before Amber and Mullard got into the mix.
 
A pair of back-to-back Denison goals cut into the lead, but the Yeowomen would answer with three straight of their own. Mullard would cash in a free-position attempt before being setup by Rauchle on the second. Morgan Daruwala's eighth goal of the season made it 8-2 Oberlin with 9:19 left in the opening half, but from that point the game drastically changed.
 
The Big Red would close the opening stanza with four consecutive goals to make it 8-6 in favor of Oberlin at the intermission.
 
With the momentum in the Big Red's corner, they would open the second session with three more goals to go out in front 9-8 and cap a 7-0 scoring barrage.
 
At the 24-minute mark, Amber would get the Yeowomen back to even with the help of a Hayley Drapkin feed.
 
Later trailing 11-9, back-to-back goals from Mullard within 18 seconds would again square the match with just under 14 minutes left to play.
 
Unfortunately, it was the Big Red who answered the bell; as they would go on to score four goals over the next 10 minutes to effectively put the game out of reach.
 
Rauchle would deposit an 8-meter with 3:26 left to expire, but it was too little too late for the Yeowomen.
 
Oberlin was out-shot 38-21, which included a 30-17 advantage in shots on goal. The Yeowomen did win the ground ball battle by a slight 27-24 edge, but struggled on the draw and on clears. The Yeowomen secured just nine of the game's 29 draw controls and flipped the field successfully 13 times on 22 tries.
 
Michael Puterbaugh led the Oberlin backline with four caused turnovers and three ground balls.
 
The Yeowomen will be back in action on Tuesday night when they host Allegheny College at 7 p.m. The opening draw is set for 7 p.m.