FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Marian women's lacrosse team came up on the losing end of its first Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference matchup on Wednesday night, as the Knights fell at No. 8 Indiana Tech 14-11. Marian drops to 2-3 overall on the season and 0-1 in the conference.

Marian got off to a great start on Wednesday, building a multiple-goal lead over Indiana Tech in the opening quarter of the game. Delaney Koles scored a player-down goal for the first score of the day, and after the Warriors leveled the goal, the Knights rattled off three unanswered scores. Rylie Boezeman propelled Marian into the lead with an unassisted goal, while Taleah Nool scored twice to end the period, giving the road team its 4-1 advantage.

The Warriors would break up the run in the first 90 seconds of the second quarter with Brooke Maul's goal, but it would do little to slow Marian, as they fed the ball to Delaney Koles. Koles scored three unanswered goals in less than two minutes, with Taleah Nool assisting on all three, driving Marian into a 7-2 advantage. The run for Koles, along with a goal from Ella Grace Giedd, gave Marian an 8-4 lead by intermission.

Marian's would continue to hold its lead as the third quarter played out, but momentum began to fade from the Knights, as Indiana Tech made life difficult for the visiting offense. Marian's attack mustered one goal in the third quarter with Ruby Mason scoring in the final three minutes, but the Warriors were able to counter with three goals, scoring three straight to open the second half. 

Six third-quarter turnovers saw Marian's momentum continue to slip, as Indiana Tech came within one goal of the lead 26 seconds into the final stanza. Esbeydi Montes was finally able to stop Marian's skid as she drove home a goal with 13:41 to play, but it would not be enough to keep the offense on the attack. Indiana Tech matched Montes' score on its next possession and tied the game with 11:25 remaining. The Warriors' offense would continue to score after tying the game, driving home four more scores, as their 6-0 run put the game out of reach for Marian. Ruby Mason would score the game's final goal with 1:20 remaining to get Marian within three scores, but the Knights would not get another scoring opportunity, as they fell 14-11.

Delaney Koles led Marian in goals in the loss with four, while Taleah Nool scored two goals and had a team-high three assists. Olivia Dean led the team in caused turnovers with three and ground balls with four, and Esbeydi Montes recorded a team-high five draw controls in the loss. In goal, Aniyah Jones took the loss to fall to 2-3 on the season, making eight saves against her 14 allowed goals. 

Marian's next matchup will be the following Wednesday, when the Knights travel to No. 10 Lawrence Tech for a 3:00 p.m. matchup with the Blue Devils.

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