Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — American International (2-0 overall) scored eight straight goals in the second half to overcome an 11-7 deficit and earn a 15-12 non-conference victory over Fort Lewis (0-4) yesterday at Ronald J. Abdow Field

Junior attack Ashleigh Szawlowski scored a career-high six goals with three assists to lead the Yellow Jackets while fellow junior attack Courtney Szawlowski tallied four goals and four assists.

Freshman midfielder Ally Kvidera (Plymouth, Minn.) scored three goals with two assists to lead the Skyhawks. Freshman midfielder Abby Kvidera and freshman attack Jessica Norby also scored hat tricks.

“Again, another hard loss because it was such a close game,” said first-year FLC head coach Kelsey MacDonald. “We were ahead 6-5 in the first half. Then we came out and scored three quick goals to get the score up to 11-7. They just started to chip away and come back.”

Freshman Nicole Sawula recorded six saves after entering the game 6:14 into the second half to earn the win in her collegiate debut for AIC, while senior Gina Gallo got the start and had 10 saves. Sophomore Genna Waugh made just five saves in taking the loss for Fort Lewis.

Ally Kvidera scored the first two goals of the game to help spot the Skyhawks an early 5-1 lead. AIC pulled back with one at the half, 6-5, but got off to a slow start in the second and found itself down 11-7 9:22 into the period.

Ashleigh Szawlowski then started an 8-0 Yellow Jacket run, in which she scored four times and assisted on two others, that spanned 13 minutes to give AIC the win.

“We just made some sloppy mistakes and couldn't take care of the ball,” said MacDonald. “They definitely had a lot of good passes and were a very skilled team. We just kind of fell apart after they tied the score at 11-11.

“We're definitely improving each game,” MacDonald said of her team's six-day, four-game, season-opening road trip through New England, where the third-year program faced some of the nation's top small-college lacrosse teams. “We just need to play a complete 60 minutes.”

Fort Lewis returns to action at 3:30 p.m. Thursday against Millsaps College (1-4), a first-year NCAA Division III program from Jackson, Miss. The Skyhawks and Majors will square off at Colorado College's Stewart Field in Colorado Springs.