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KENNESAW, Ga. – Mercer slipped by the Kennesaw State women's lacrosse team Wednesday evening, 13-10, scoring three goals in the final five minutes to take control in a hotly-contested game at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

The Owl defense stepped up under the lights despite the loss forcing Mercer to 25 turnovers, causing 13, while holding star Bear midfielders and leading scorers Haily Rhatigan and Eva Thorn to one goal apiece.

How it Happened: After a shaky start for the Owls (2-3) saw Mercer (4-2) take a 5-1 advantage less than 10 minutes into the game, the KSU defense locked down allowing only two goals scored over the next 21 minutes. Izzy Palermo ended the Bears early run with a goal from the arc as the two teams fought to a 7-3 result with just under eight minutes left in the half.

KSU went on to close out the period with authority as Siena Gore netted her second goal of the contest to spark a 4-0 run for the Owls. KSU scored three of their final four goals in the half off free position shots with a rip from Anna Giulitto putting the Owls on level terms 7-7 heading into the locker room.

It was another scrappy to start to open the second half, but Mercer managed to pull its way in front with two straight goals to lead 9-7 at the 21:54 mark. Palermo kept the Owls within one following her second goal of the night before the two squads traded goals less than a minute apart with Gore recording her hat trick to keep it close 10-9.

Izzy Bertolani finally knotted the game back up at 10-10, scoring her first goal of the season with eight minutes still to play. That would be the final goal scored for KSU as Mercer closed out the game on a 3-0 run, holding the Owls scoreless thanks to two saves from keeper Kathryn Vanderlinde and a breakaway shot by Emily Napierala that ricocheted off the post.

Notes: Siena Gore logged her third hat trick of the year while Izzy Palermo and Abby Squires netted two goals each … KSU out-shot Mercer 31-24 … Emily Napierala had a stellar game with three assists and a career-high five ground balls … the Owls recorded 22 ground balls, three each from Marissa Gore, Alex Bunn and Palermo … KSU held Mercer to 15-of-24 on clearance attempts … Bunn finished the game with eight saves compared to 10 for Mercer goalkeeper Kathryn Vanderlinde.

Quotes: Head Coach Laura Manness
On the locker room at halftime…
"At halftime there was a lot of adrenaline in the locker room. Our girls were very motivated, so I think we were ready to go in the second half. We had better hustle plays than they did, we had more ground balls, they had more turnovers than we did, so we were really motivated to keep making those hustle plays. We had more shots than them, we just didn't drop them."

On the final minutes of the game…
"I think where Mercer had an advantage on us is that they have been in multiple one-goal games this season, they were in a one-goal game with Cal, they were in a one-goal game with Winthrop. I think their composure showed down the stretch and we haven't been in this scenario yet and we lost some of our composure in those clutch moments. We weren't setting up the plays exactly how we needed to, we were just kind of rushing our offense and then we were turning the ball over rather than getting the high-quality shots we were looking for. Now we've been in a close game and I think that hopefully we can show better composure down the road in those moments."

On the game's takeaways…
"The vibe in the locker room is really good, I think they really worked hard, they really worked for each other. The seniors spent time thanking the underclassmen because last year we lost to Mercer 20-9 so being in a battle with them shows how far we've come. It's unfortunate that we didn't close the game in those clutch moments, but I think right now we have a good thing going so we're looking to bounce back and just take it to Winthrop."

Up Next: The Owls will look for their bounce back this Saturday as they host Winthrop at 12 p.m. inside Fifth Third Bank Stadium.