Box score
 
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Regis (2-0 overall, 2-0 in the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association) blew open a close game by scoring eight unanswered goals in the final 12:45 to beat Fort Lewis 16-7 Saturday in women's lacrosse at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
 
“It was definitely a closer game than the final score,” said third-year FLC lacrosse coach Kelsey MacDonald. “They went on a scoring spree starting with 12:45 left in the second half. Up to that point, it was a good game.”
 
Regis tripled their lead with two goals in three seconds — markers by Hilary Duda and Abbey Chimenti — to push an 8-7 lead to 10-7. Emily Elkins, Duda and Erin Todd all scored in the next two-and-a-half minutes to stretch the lead to 13-7. Todd, Duda and Sydney Tomlinson then scored in a two-minute stretch between 8:34 and 6:35 remaining to seal the victory.
 
“They started capitalizing, winning the draws and going down before we would even have a chance to set up on defense,” said MacDonald. “They were just beating us on the fastbreak. We definitely had some breakdowns in the midfield. Our transition was not as perfect as it needs to be. We needed to connect a little bit better in the midfield.”
 
Still, MacDonald found plenty to be happy with. “The girls played their hearts out,” she said.
 
Jessica Norby scored goals on both of her two shots. Marissa DiCecco, Abby Kvidera, Ally Kvidera, Toki Tajima-Prodnuk and Jam Vertner also put shots past Regis goalkeeper Gianna Lombardi, who made nine saves while recording the victory.
 
FLC's Alyssa Spencer (1-1) made 11 saves for the Skyhawks.
 
Todd (four goals), Duda (three) and Elkins (three) all recorded hat tricks for Regis.
 
“It was frustrating because we were in it for so long,” said MacDonald.
 
Neither team led by more than two goals in the first half, which ended with the Rangers ahead 6-4. Regis twice led by three-goal margins early in the second half before FLC rallied for back-to-back goals by Ally Kvidera and DiCecco to cut the lead to 8-7 with 16:25 remaining. Brook Wineland had a chance to level the score at 8-8, but was denied by Lombardi at 15:24. Less than three minutes later, the floodgates opened.
 
The Skyhawks fell to 0-9 all-time against Regis, 0-5 in games played in the Denver area.
 
Fort Lewis now looks to rebound against Adams State at 1 p.m. next Saturday at the ASU Lacrosse & Soccer Field. The game will mark the season opener for the Grizzlies.
 
FLC is 4-0 all-time against Adams State, winning the four previous meetings by a combined score of 85-12.