Box Score SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A balanced attack which saw seven Skyhawks score propelled the Fort Lewis College women's lacrosse team to a season-opening, 17-10, win over Westminster College in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play on Friday.

"It was so awesome to get the season kicked off today," said head coach Ashley Travis. "Getting this win felt awesome for all of us. We played as a team today on both sides of the ball which helped us get this win.

Fort Lewis (1-0, 1-0 RMAC) was outshot by Westminster at a 39-28 clip, but a 17 save performance from returning All-RMAC goalkeeper Averi Basso kept the Skyhawks in it from the jump. Leading the team offensively was junior Liv Crawford with four goals on six shot attempts (five on goal). The trio of sophomore Ellie Martinez, junior Autumn Rymerson, and senior Maren Clark each put up three-goal outings.

"Defense had some amazing stops and forced Westminster to take some low-angle shots that Averi was able to save. She had an amazing game in goal and really secured the win for us," acknowledged Travis. "Autumn did amazing things for us on the draw today, securing us the ball in some crucial points of the game. On the attacking side, we moved the ball well once the pregame jitters were gone."

Fort Lewis found its first goal of the season with 12:44 remaining in the first quarter courtesy of sophomore Caprietta Abbadessa to take a 1-0 lead. The Griffins scored three unanswered goals to go ahead 3-1 with 1:26 to go. Sophomore Haley Dostie picked up the final goal of the opening quarter with :26 to go, seeing Fort Lewis down 3-2 after one quarter.

Dostie wasted no time notching her second goal of the afternoon, equalizing things at 3-3 just one minute into the second quarter. Fort Lewis went on a charge, earning back-to-back goals from Martinez and Crawford to see a 6-4 edge with 8:53 remaining in the half. The Skyhawks saw their largest lead of the day at 9-5 with another goal from Crawford. Westminster picked up back-to-back scores to close out the quarter, finding Fort Lewis up 9-7.

Out of the break, the Skyhawks kicked ahead 12-8 with goals from Rymerson, Clark, and Crawford. Goals continued to pour on for the blue and gold, elevating the lead to 15-9 before a last-second goal from Martinez had Fort Lewis up by seven-run heading into the final quarter of play.

The fourth quarter was far more defense-minded than the previous, with a Rymerson goal with 7:15 on the clock putting her team ahead 17-9. Westminster echoed the goal, pushing the score to 17-10, but two saves from Basso preserved the lead in a 17-10 final score. In true form, defense held the Skyhawks in the game for the decisive win. The back line limited the Griffins to 25 shots, but the true story is not visible in the stat line as many of the shots were off balance or under pressure. The team earned four caused turnovers, including those from sophomore Rebecca Kiyokawa , Dostie, and Crawford. 

Fort Lewis (1-0, 1-0 RMAC) is back in action on Sunday for an RMAC showdown with Colorado Mesa University. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. in Grand Junction. Colorado Mesa is coming off a 20-0 win over Adams State this afternoon.