Simmons Lacrosse fell 13-3 to Great Northeast Athletic Conference opponent Emerson College on Saturday at The Winsor School Fields. The Lions' Maeghan Ross scored 6 goals and 5 assists, proving too much for the Sharks' defensive game. With the loss, Simmons falls to 3-5 overall, 1-4 GNAC, while Emerson improves to 5-3 overall, 5-1 GNAC.

"We had too many unforced errors today," said Head Coach Kate Leonard. "We forced the shots on attack and forced some sloppy passes in the midfield; Emerson is a strong team and we couldn't get away with that kind of play today."

Both teams played solid defense in the first fifteen minutes of the first period. Ross struck first at 17:23 with an unassisted goal, followed by a Laura Miley unassisted goal 23 seconds later. Emerson scored again before Simmons could get on the board with a Lee Sutherland (Tuftonboro, N.H.) break through traffic. Rachel Wallace's (Braintree, Mass.) free position goal under two minutes later left the score at 4-2, but Ross scored twice again before the half to make it 6-2 Lions at the break.

The second half saw more of the same from both Emerson and Simmons. Ross scored 3 goals and added 3 assists to the Lion's 7-goal effort. Mikaela McSherry (Worcester, Mass.) scored the Sharks' only goal of the half with 1:05 remaining, ending the game at Emerson 13, Simmons 3.

"I am very proud of how the defense worked together, especially in the first half, but as soon as we won the ball back we rushed things and couldn't capitalize because of it," added Leonard. "We'll definitely be working on using our strengths as a team rather than trying to go it alone."

Kelly Last (West Haven, Conn.) continued her strong debut season in goal, making 17 saves in 60 minutes of play. Emerson's Emily Saeger came up with the win, making eight saves in 56 minutes. Jeanine Gaitan made 1 save and had 1 goal against in four minutes of second half play.

The Sharks will host non-conference Framingham State on Tuesday, April 13 at 7pm on the Winsor School Field. Emerson College next plays GNAC rival Rivier College in Nashua, NH on the same day at 6pm.