CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Albright women's lacrosse team was unable to comeback from a first quarter deficit as they fell 14-9 to Clarkson on Wednesday in Clearwater, Fla.
 
With the loss, the Lions fall to 1-5 overall. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights remain undefeated and improve to 4-0.
 
Senior Lauren China filled the stat sheet with six points behind five goals and one assist, a career-high six caused turnovers, and three ground balls. Senior Ashleigh Tortorice added two goals and one assist for three points and two caused turnovers. Junior Chloe Fornoff grabbed a game-high nine draw controls while senior Sydney Plunkett tallied a game-high four ground balls.
 
Tortorice notched the first goal of the game at the 12:48-mark to claim the early 1-0 lead for the Lions. Clarkson didn't hang their heads for long though, as they posted four unanswered goals throughout the opening frame to grasp a 4-1 lead.
 
The Golden Knights kept their momentum rolling from the first quarter and scored the opening goal of the second at the 11:39-mark to extend their lead to four. Albright snapped the run with an unassisted goal from China at the 9:40-mark. Clarkson answered at the 6:58-mark with another score to stay in front, but Albright began to find their footing as they closed out the first half with two unanswered goals from China and junior Abigail Hai to cut their deficit to 6-4 entering the break.
 
China got the Lions within one off a feed from Tortorice in the opening possession of the second half. Clarkson notched a free-position goal at the 11:11-mark to hold onto a 7-5 lead. China found the back of the net once again at the 10:21-mark to keep the Lions within reach. Clarkson responded with back-to-back goals, extending their lead to 9-6 with 7:33 remaining in the third. Sophomore Katelyn Patrick converted a free-position shot at the 4:08-mark to get Albright within two, but the Golden Knights had the final goal of the third to hold a 10-7 lead.
 
Clarkson controlled the pace in the final stanza, opening the frame with quick back-to-back goals to take a 12-7 lead at the 13:41-mark. The Golden Knights added two more to their lead from the eight-meter to take their largest lead of the game at seven goals. China and Tortorice closed out the game with the final two goals for Albright, but the Lions were unable to overcome their deficit as Clarkson claimed the 14-9 non-conference victory.
 
The two teams matched up well in every single statistical category. Clarkson held a slight 33-31 shot advantage and a 28-25 shot on goal advantage. The battle for ground balls was even at 14 apiece and Albright grabbed 14 draw controls to Clarkson's 13. Sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Sedor receives the loss for the Lions despite completing eight saves in 31:07 minutes of action. Sydney Christiansen earns the win for the Golden Knights with 16 saves in the full 60 minutes of action.
 
The Lions will return to action on Wednesday at 5 p.m. to host Haverford in non-conference action at Shirk Stadium.