DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Quincy University women's lacrosse team dropped a neutral-site contest to No. 21 Saint Anselm on Monday afternoon in Daytona Beach, falling 18-11 after a weather delay pushed the start time back. The Hawks battled throughout but were unable to overcome a fast-starting Saint Anselm offense that built an early lead.

Saint Anselm opened the game with a quick offensive surge, scoring two goals in the opening three minutes. Quincy answered midway through the first quarter when Alaina Wilkinson found the back of the net at the 11:51 mark. Less than a minute later, Emily Leal scored to even the game at 2-2. The Hawks briefly kept pace when Anni Moran finished an assist from Wilkinson to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 7:08 remaining, but the Hawks were unable to slow the Hawks' offense as Saint Anselm scored four of the final five goals of the quarter to take an 8-3 lead into the second.

Saint Anselm added two quick goals early in the second quarter to extend the lead to seven. Quincy responded with a small push, starting with a goal from Wilkinson at 9:26. Amelia Ham added another unassisted tally at 5:47 to keep the Hawks within striking distance. After another Saint Anselm goal, Wilkinson completed her hat trick late in the period with 1:43 remaining to trim the margin to 11-6 heading into halftime.

The third quarter saw Saint Anselm regain momentum with three straight goals, two coming during man-up opportunities, stretching the lead to 14-6. Quincy answered midway through the quarter as Wilkinson netted her fourth goal of the day at the 7:49 mark, but Saint Anselm countered with another goal to take a 15-7 advantage into the final quarter.

Quincy made a late push in the fourth quarter. After Saint Anselm opened the frame with two goals, the Hawks found offense through Teigan Neukom, who scored the first goal of her collegiate career on a man-up opportunity with 6:42 remaining. Ham followed with her second goal of the afternoon less than a minute later. Quincy continued to chip away as Moran scored twice in the final five minutes, including the final goal of the contest with 47 seconds remaining, but Saint Anselm held on for the 18-11 victory.

Despite the loss, Quincy held advantages in several key areas. The Hawks outshot Saint Anselm 31-27 and also finished with more ground balls (21-15). Quincy converted 12 of 14 clears and controlled 15 draw controls, just one shy of Saint Anselm's 16.

The difference came in finishing opportunities and extra-player situations. Saint Anselm placed 21 shots on goal compared to Quincy's 18 and capitalized on several man-up chances. The Hawks also forced 18 Saint Anselm turnovers, but their own 14 turnovers prevented them from sustaining offensive runs during key moments.

Wilkinson led Quincy offensively with four goals and an assist for five points, pacing the Hawks' attack. Moran added three goals, while Ham contributed two goals and an assist with a team-high 10 shots. Leal finished with one goal and two assists.

Leal also had a strong all-around performance, recording a career-high five ground balls while surpassing 150 career draw controls in the contest. Moran added another milestone by surpassing 100 career draw controls during the game as well.

Defensively, Rebecca Ritter matched Leal with a career-high five ground balls, helping Quincy win the ground ball battle. Neukom's fourth-quarter tally marked the first goal of her collegiate career. In goal, Ava Condos played all 60 minutes and finished with seven saves.

Quincy will continue its spring break trip in Florida on Wednesday when the Hawks take on Palm Beach Atlantic University. Opening draw is scheduled for 4:00 PM CT.