ST. PETERSBURG, FL – The Cabrini women's lacrosse team found itself in an early hole and it proved to be the difference, as the Cavaliers suffered a 17-15 loss to Capital University this morning in St. Petersburg, FL.

The Blue and White nearly completed a late comeback before falling to 1-1 on the young season, while the Crusaders improved to 2-0.

Junior Avery Murphy etched her name in the Cabrini record book today, as the junior became the newest member of the program's 100 career point club.  Murphy paced the Blue and White attack with five goals, an assist and nine draw controls.

Junior Emma Rodner-Tims notched a career best four points and joined senior Sara Johnsen, junior Liz Hoeffner and freshman Taylor Dimmerling with two goals.

Hoeffner and senior Jackie Neary added five draw controls each, while junior Katie Kucia paired four ground balls with a pair of caused turnovers.  Junior goaltender Devon Scharf recorded 10 saves in the loss.

The Crusaders opened the scoring just 34 seconds after the opening whistle and never looked back. By the middle of the first half, Cabrini found itself looking up at a 5-0 deficit.  Hoeffner and Murphy got on the board in a span of 30 seconds before Capital rebuilt its five goal cushion.

Murphy added to her stat line with three straight goals to pull the Blue and White to within 7-5 with 10 minutes left in the opening stanza.

Capital had an answer of its own, scoring four unanswered goals to extend its lead to 12-6 with 92 seconds left on the clock. Johnsen's first goal of the day pulled the Cavaliers back within 12-7 at the half.

Johnsen's second came early in the second half before added a pair of goals to regain its six goal advantage. Dimmerling's first goal of the period sparked a 4-0 run for the Blue and White, as the rookie's free position goal cut Capital's lead to 14-12 with 17:45 to play.

The Crusader s recorded three consecutive goals to reestablish its five goal lead with just under 11 minutes to play, but the Cavaliers would not go quietly.

Goals by sophomore Lauren Hughes and Murphy cut Cabrini's deficit to 17-14 with 4:23 to play, before freshman Kathleen Emche recorded her first collegiate goal with just seconds remaining.

Sophomore Katherine Walton led the Crusaders with six goals, two assists, three ground balls and four draw controls on the day.

The Cavaliers will return north for their next contest, as they host No. 2 The College of New Jersey (1-0) on March 7. The opening whistle is slated for 7pm at Edith Robb Dixon Field.