The short-handed Oglethorpe women's lacrosse team fought valiantly Friday night against SAA rival Birmingham-Southern and played better according to most statistical categories. However, the visiting Panthers were able to pick up an 11-8 victory on the Oglethorpe Track and Field.

The Stormy Petrels, once again playing with only 12 players, led for a little while early on and never trailed by more than four goals. In addition, they outplayed the visiting Panthers for large stretches. However, Birmingham-Southern built a four-goal lead midway through the second half and the Petrels were never quite able to recover.

Oglethorpe outshot BSC 30-20, including 21-16 on goal. They scooped 25 ground balls to the Panthers' 14, won 11 draw controls to Birmingham-Southern's 10, and forced 22 Panther turnovers while committing 20 themselves. The Petrels were 11-for-18 on clear attempts while their opponent was 13-for-21. However, the BSC goalie made 13 saves on the night and proved to be the big difference in the game. 

Junior midfielder Michelle Vasques had another excellent game, scoring twice while putting nine of her 11 shots on goal. She scooped seven ground balls and caused seven BSC turnovers. Fellow junior midfielder Sydney Sparks posted a hat trick while causing three turnovers, and senior midfielder Juliana Altman secured five draw controls while scoring a goal and causing a pair of turnovers. 

The Petrels held a one-goal lead three times in this game, as Sparks tallied the game's first marker three minutes in followed by Altman and Vasques on a free position shot. Each time, Birmingham-Southern answered with a goal of their own. With the score tied at 3-3 and 10 minutes left in the first half, BSC scored the final five goals of the period to give their team a 7-3 lead going into the halftime break.

The Petrels came back with consecutive goals to start the second, as Sparks tallied a man-up goal and freshman midfielder Madison Coffey followed to make the score 7-5 with 23:37 remaining. However, the Panthers were able to push the lead back out to four with 18:01 left. Junior defender Tate Davis scored off an assist from Coffey, but Birmingham-Southern answered back shortly thereafter. This would happen once more, with Sparks cutting the lead to three and the Panthers taking it back to four with 3:38 left. Vasques was able to cut it back down to three, 11-8, with 2:11 left, but that was the final tally. 

"Statistically, we won in almost every catgory, but our shots just didn't fall," said Head Coach Marissa Giannerini. "We played with heart tonight and hustled until the last whistle. I'm happy with the effort. We have to get better at capitalizing on our opportunities moving forward."

With the loss, the Petrels fall to 1-9 overall, 0-5 in SAA play. They'll welcome in Division II opponent Converse Sunday at noon for a non-conference contest before hosting Rhodes in another SAA matchup next Saturday.