WAVERLY, Iowa - Wartburg lacrosse fell short in its Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference opener against Loras College by a score of 14-8 at the Wartburg Lacrosse Field on Saturday, March 27.

The Knights (0-5, 0-1 MWL) will switch back to nonconference play on Wednesday, March 31 when they host the University of Wisconsin River Falls at 5 p.m. at the Wartburg Lacrosse Field. 

Loras jumped out to an early eight-goal advantage when they opened the contest on a 9-1 run. The Knights battled back with a 3-0 scoring run of their own as Lindsay Langford and Bri Greiskalns (2) received tallies for Wartburg. The Orange & Black faced a six-goal deficit when they headed into intermission.

The second half went back-and-forth as each program traded goals for much of the period. The Knights managed to cut the Duhawks' lead to just five with 5:11 remaining when Kristen Mahoney and Langford scored consecutive goals. However, Loras halted Wartburg's momentum when Clare Brunn recorded her team-high fifth goal of the contest to ice the game for the Duhawks. 

Junior Greiskalns posted a season-high five goals and six points for the Knights while Mahoney (1) and Langford (2) got on the score sheet with tallies of their own. Wartburg recorded a season-high 29 shots and 22 shots on goal in the match as well as a season-best 26 ground balls and 16 clears. The Knights held a 12-11 advantage on draw controls and forced 19 turnovers. Freshman Brittney Shipman made her second start of the season in net and tallied 10 saves.