The Lee women's lacrosse team saw its fourth comeback attempt come up just short in falling to No. 13 Embry-Riddle, 10-8 on a windy day at the Ray Conn Sports Complex.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 4-0 advantage and held an 8-4 advantage at halftime. The second half saw the Lady Flames battle back and outscore Embry-Riddle, 3-1 in the fourth quarter. Hannah Vecsey pulled Lee within two with 2:58 remaining in the contest and the Lady Flames got the ball back with 2:12 left but failed to score.  

Shayna Ryan led the Lady Flames with three goals and made a big impact in controlling possession with eight draw controls. Dariana Blanton added a pair of goals and three assists. The senior from Canton, Ga. was named the GSC Player of the Week and leads the league in goals (38) and points (50). 

The Eagles came into the contest sixth in the nation in goals per game with 18 but the Lee defense held the high-powered Eagles to just two second half goals. Caleigh Smith came on in goal for the Lady Flames in the second half and gave up just two goals while posting six saves. Kaleigh Bernard, the GSC Defender of the Week, started at allowed eight goals to go along with four saves.

"It thought turnovers were the key in this one," said Lee head coach Derrel Martin. "We didn't do a very good job of taking care of the ball, some of that was forced by Embry Riddle, and some of that was just on us. Embry Riddle is a good team and good teams take advantage of your mistakes and they did that today."

Lee was guilty of 27 turnovers while the Eagles made 19 mistakes. The Florida club also held a 28-16 edge in groundballs and were efficient on clears going for 21 of 24. The Lady Flames held the advantage in draw controls by a 15-7 margin.

Murphy McDonough led all scorers with four goals while Callie Foreman and Sallie Squire added two each for Embry-Riddle. Aubrey Fixen earned the win goal with eight saves.

"I thought both our goalies did a nice job against this offense. We had several players step up both offensively and defensively today. The effort was there and if we do a better job of cleaning up turnovers, we will position ourselves well as we hit the stretch run of the season," added Martin. "I think this team is confident in what they can do, and I believe we will bounce back on Sunday against a good Flagler team that's new to the GSC."

The Lady Flames fall to 5-6 on the year while the Eagles remain undefeated at 10-0 under first-year head coach Leah Peppelman. Embry-Riddle is 4-0 against nationally ranked teams this season. Lee will wrap up a three-game home stand on Sunday afternoon against GSC rival Flagler at 1 p.m.