The Rams (0-5) fell at home Saturday afternoon to the Fighting Scots (1-1) by a 9-6 score.
Midfielder Emily Peters had a hat trick for the Fighting Scots, scoring three goals in the first half that helped the Fighting Scots take a commanding 8-3 lead at halftime.
For the game, the Fighting Scots were out-shot 25-21, but capitalized on more of their chances.
With 11 shots on goal, they made life defensively for the Rams difficult. The Rams showed little signs of being able to contain them in the high-scoring affair.
The score was not as close as the score suggests, however.
Senior attacker Brooke Hunley scored an unassisted goal early on for the Rams, penetrating the Fighting Scots’ defense. Freshman attacker Lillian Funke shortly thereafter connected with senior midfielder Haley Price less than two minutes later at the 20:40 mark to give the Rams an early 2-1 lead.
The next four goals were scored by the Fighting Scots though, with two of them coming from Peters. Midfielder Olivia Potts assisted on a goal scored by midfielder Elysia Garland, as she found a gap in the Rams’ defense.
Peters then assisted on a goal by attacker Stephanie Chido. Capping the 4-0 run, the Fighting Scots took a commanding 5-2 lead in the first half.
Their first half scoring flurry would continue, with Garland and midfielder Mary Uplinger finding their way through the Rams’ defense by themselves, scoring unassisted goals. Chido also added to her point total by assisting on another goal coming at the hands of midfielder Haleigh Wright.
After struggling early on, the Fighting Scots clearly found traction offensively, as their wheels did not stop running.
Not wanting to go down at home like this, the Rams really stepped up their game defensively in the second half, allowing just one goal by Potts.
Price opened up the second half scoring by sending home a goal to the back of the net, courtesy of senior attacker Alex Green.
Just a few minutes later at the 24:59 mark, junior midfielder Courtney Matthews kept the momentum on the Rams’ side by recording her second goal of the game.
With the momentum back on their side, the Rams were down 8-5 at this point.
Matthews assisted Price on another goal with 14:52 remaining to cut the lead to 9-6, but the Rams could not muster enough offensively to make up for their earlier defensive lapses. The Fighting Scots’ defense kicked it into gear from then on out and closed out the Rams.
The Fighting Scots lost the draw control battle by a 10-6 score, but dominated in ground balls, winning 25-17. The Rams were 15-of-20 in clears, while the Fighting Scots were 15-of-22.
Junior goalkeeper Casey Hickman recorded five saves for the Rams, while Paige Skinner controlled the game with her 10 saves.
Falling to 0-5 on the season, the Rams are clearly looking for answers on both sides of the ball.
Price did achieve a milestone that not many can say they did, however. With her performance, she now has 100 points (85 goals and 17 assists) in her storied career at Shepherd.
On Monday afternoon, the Rams will hit the road to take on Franklin Pierce at 1 p.m., seeking to earn their first win of the season.
Anthony Bracken is the Sports Editor of The Picket. He can be reached at abrack02@rams.shepherd.edu