The Oglethorpe women's lacrosse team opened its season Sunday afternoon against NAIA opponent Columbia (South Carolina) and were competitive with the visiting Koalas through most of the opening half. However, Columbia pulled away for a 14-4 victory in the second half at the Oglethorpe Track and Field.

The game was a defensive battle throughout most of the opening half. The Koalas opened the scoring five minutes into the game, but Oglethorpe immediately answered with a tally from junior midfielder Juliana Altman on a free position shot with 22:54 remaining in the half. The score remained 1-1 for the next 12 minutes of play, but Columbia tallied a man-up goal with 10:37 remaining in the period, which began a 7-goal run at the end of the half. 

The Koalas took an 8-1 lead into the break and added a few more to that early in the second half, building an 11-1 lead with 25:18 remaining. The Petrels scored two in a row from there, however, as Altman and senior midfielder Sydney Sparks tallied to pull the home side to within eight with 21:26 left. Senior midfielder Tate Davis also scored on a free position shot with 8:28 remaining. However, the Koalas finished by outscoring the Petrels 3-1 down the stretch, securing the 10-goal victory.

Altman led the Petrels with a pair of goals on four shots while senior defender Caitlin Ayres scooped three ground balls and forced three Columbia turnovers. As a team, the Petrels were 2 for 6 on free position shots to the Koalas' 0 for 5. However, Columbia outshot the Petrels 26-14, outdrew them 11-9, and forced 17 Oglethorpe turnovers while committing 14.

"The team hustled and fought hard, but we dug ourselves too big a hole late in the first half," said Oglethorpe head coach Marissa Giannerini. "We will learn from this and build our chemistry with each game. I'm confident that the team will respond to this experience and grow as a unit for our next game."

The Petrels will hit the road on Saturday, as they'll make the short trip to Cleveland, Georgia, to take on Truett-McConnell at 3 p.m. After that, they'll return home for their next five games, which will include their conference opener against Sewanee on Feb. 20.