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WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University women's lacrosse team fell to the Loyola University (Md.) Greyhounds (5-4), 12-9, Tuesday evening at Cooper Field. The Hoyas closed out non-conference play with a mark of 2-7 overall.

Senior midfielder Kristen Bandos (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame of Namur) led the way with five goals, while freshman midfielder Francesca Whitehurst (Baltimore, Md./Roland Park Country School) managed two goals and an assist.

The Hoyas outshot the Greyhounds, 21-19, and pulled in 16 draw controls to Loyola's seven. GU hit 2-of-6 free position attempts, but committed 17 turnovers to the Greyhounds' nine. Junior goalkeeper Maddy Fisher (Ellicott City, Md./Mount Hebron) took the loss with three saves in the net in 40 minutes of play.

"We made too many mistakes, but we competed hard for 60 minutes and I was really proud of the effort," said Georgetown Head Coach Ricky Fried. "We just need to find a way to minimize our mistakes across the board."

The Greyhounds struck first with a goal in the opening two minutes. However, after a big save from Fisher, Georgetown came down and executed a play for Whitehurst who found the top right corner of the cage to tie the game at one at the 23:27 mark.

Loyola answered with back-to-back goals, but the Blue & Gray was patient on offense and found an opening as senior attacker Corinne Etchison (Eldersburg, Md./McDonogh School) passed it to a cutting Bandos who found the back of the cage and cut the Greyhound lead to one, 3-2, at 17:36.

Bandos followed that up with her second of the evening just two minutes later as senior attacker Kelsey Perselay (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) found her near the goal. The score tied the game at three midway through the half.

Fisher continued to come up big in the net for the Hoyas, and a goal from sophomore midfielder Hannah Seibel (Hanover, N.H./Hanover) on a restart gave GU its first lead of the contest, 4-3, and continued a 3-0 run for the Blue & Gray.

Loyola stopped the run at 7:32, as Fisher came out of the net and the Greyhounds got in behind her to tie it back up at four apiece. A free position goal at 5:04 put the Greyhounds back on top as both team battled for the advantage.

At the break, Loyola led 5-4.

The Greyhounds struck first in the second half and then added three more to take a five-goal lead.

A fast break allowed the Hoyas to settle the game as Whitehurst came streaking down the field and found Bandos in the middle in front of the goal to make it 9-5. It was Bandos' third goal on the evening.

Four minutes later, freshman attacker Taylor Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, N.Y./C.W. Baker) was behind the goal and passed to classmate Morgan Ryan (Maplewood, N.J./Oak Knoll School) crashing in. The shot was well placed past Loyola keeper Molly Wolf to make it 9-6.

Bandos scored her fourth less than a minute later as she weaved through the defense to cut the deficit to two, 9-7, and continue the three-goal run.

A pair of Loyola goals slowed the Hoya momentum, but Whitehurst found the back of the cage on an unassisted shot, her second of the game. Off of the ensuing draw, the Greyhounds came down and scored to push it back to a 12-8 contest.

Bandos continued to have GU's hot hand tallying her fifth of the game at 7:38 off of a free position shot to cut the deficit to three, 12-9. The goal wouldn't be enough to spark a run, however, as GU eventually fell by a score of 12-9.

The Blue & Gray will be back in action on Saturday, April 2 as the squad begins BIG EAST Conference play at Vanderbilt University. The opening draw is schedule for 1 p.m.