ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In a battle of two nationally ranked teams the No. 17 Roberts Wesleyan women's lacrosse team fell to No. 2 Le Moyne on Wednesday afternoon, 13-11.
 
Senior midfielder Ellen O'Neil scored a career-high four goals to help pace the Redhawks' offense, including two goals in the fourth quarter to bring Roberts within two of the lead. Grad student Lindsey Brinkel also scored four goals with four assists and Madison Bell had three goals and an assist.
 
Le Moyne got on the board first and never relinquished the lead for the remainder of the game. Despite being outshot 36 to 18 the Redhawks never backed off, using timely goals to steal the momentum back from Le Moyne in key moments.
 
Down 9-5 at the half, Roberts came out in the third quarter with a burst of energy leading to back-to-back goals to begin the second half.
 
The Redhawks found success on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, but struggled in the transition game going 21-of-34 in clear attempts and turning the ball over 31 times.
 
"We played aggressively but we were our own worst enemy and made too many mistakes that hurt us," said head coach Kristin Paolini. "We had too many turnovers, not always making the smart pass, and not getting to ground balls."
 
The Redhawks' defense stepped up in a big way against one of the nation's most skilled offenses. Senior Natalie Arieno made 14 saves in net and also had three ground balls and a caused turnover. Sophomore Madelyn Robinson caused three turnovers and had three ground balls. Caitlin Tucker forced two turnovers, and Allison Clahane and Shay DeRoo each had one caused turnover.
 
Le Moyne was led by Sydney Meagher who scored four times.
 
"Today was a challenging game," Paolini said. "We are a young team and playing at this high of a level is a learning process. I'm proud of our girls' effort today."
 
Roberts (3-2) will travel to Bridgeport on Saturday for the first East Coast Conference matchup of the season. Game time is set for 1 p.m.