The Lee women's lacrosse era officially opened on Saturday afternoon as Rachel Duda scored the very first goal in program history just three and half minutes into Lee's 17-9 loss to Erskine College from the South Quad Field.
The Flying Fleet responded and scored the next three goals to help outscore the Lady Flames 11-4 in the first half.
Erskine would jump up to a 10-goal advantage with 3:53 remaining before the Lady Flames scored the final two goals of the match. The Lady Flames, already carrying a smaller roster, had to play down a player the entire match because of an injury suffered in practice to Katelyn Burkett.
Lee was paced by three goals from Brianne Schapira and two by Hannah Rotello who also added two assists.
Madeline Perrigo tallied two scores and registered an assist while Duda assisted on one goal in addition to striking for the opening score. Jayne Renfro rounded out the Lee scoring.
"I can't even describe the feeling. It was really awesome and I just thank God for the opportunity," said Duda about scoring the very first goal in Lee women's lacrosse history. "Last night we were all pretty nervous but we were just ready to get out and play and it was great to be a part of this special day."
Abby Sanders recorded 10 saves in goal for the Lady Flames while Erskine used a combination of Sara Castro (five saves) and Gabi Coward (six saves). Castro started and was credited with the victory.
Raven Smith led the way with five goals and Katie Schalgenhauf followed with four for the South Carolina club. Erin Landy set things up with six assists and added two goals of her own.
"I think our team did an incredible and have come so far since August," said head coach Addie Wadley. "They fought to till the end of the game and couldn't ask for a better effort."
The Flying Fleet picked up 18 groundballs while the Lady Flames had eight, six coming in the second half of play. Erskine outshot Lee, 35-24.
"It was great to get first blood on the opening goal and that was a very encouraging sign. I look forward to seeing us continue to compete and get better as the season moves on," Wadley concluded.
Lee will visit the University of Indianapolis next Saturday in its very first road contest. The opening draw is scheduled for 1 p.m. The Lady Flames return home on Wednesday Feb. 22 as they open Gulf South Conference play with the defending league champions, Young Harris College at 4 p.m.