The Oglethorpe women's lacrosse team got some very good individual performances and hung with SAA foe Berry Wednesday night on the Oglethorpe Track and Field, but the visiting Vikings were just too much in the end, defeating the Stormy Petrels, 15-7.

The Petrels fell behind 6-1 in the first half, but made a nice comeback with back-to-back free-position goals from junior midfielder Michelle Vasques, cutting the Berry lead down to three goals. The Vikings, however, were able to push the lead out as the half wore on, going into the break up by six goals, 10-4. They maintained the advantage in the second half to hang on for a victory.

The Petrels played a competitive game with Berry overall. They were outshot just 24-19, including 19-11 on goal, committed 18 turnovers to Berry's 16, secured 12 draw controls to the Vikings' 13, and scooped 12 ground balls to their opponents' 13.

Individually, Oglethorpe got another very good performance from Vasques, who scored four goals on the night, putting six of her nine shots on target. In addition, she secured five draw controls and three ground balls while causing five Berry turnovers. Fellow junior midfielder Sydney Sparks had a pair of goals of her own, putting two of her three shots on target. She secured four draw controls, as well.

The game started off with a Berry goal, but the Petrels fought back to tie the score at 1-1 with a Vasques tally two minutes into the game. Berry answered with five straight goals to take a 6-1 lead with 9:30 left in the first half, but the Petrels came back with back-to-back Vasques free-position goals over a 1:30 span, cutting the Viking lead to 6-3 with 7:27 left in the period. Sparks netted an unassisted goal with 2:49 remaining, answering back-to-back Berry goals, to make the score 8-4. Berry finished the half with two consecutive goals, then scored the first five goals of the second half, securing the victory. The Petrels continued to fight, though, finishing the game with three straight goals over the final 2:30. Vasques scored her fourth and final goal of the game, Sparks recorded a goal off an assist from sophomore attacker Kellen Flatt, and Flatt scored a goal of her own on a free-position shot.

"This was a tough loss for us and a lesson in mental toughness," said Head Coach Marissa Giannerini. "I am happy that the girls fought to the last second and never gave up. I'm excited about learning from this experience and making the necessary adjustments to be better in our next game. Our goal is to get better each time we play. I'm confident that we'll come back strong this weekend."

The Petrels will hit the road for another SAA contest on Saturday, when they take on Hendrix from Conway, Ark., at noon Eastern. After that, they'll return home for consecutive games against Virginia Wesleyan and Illinois Wesleyan over spring break.