INDIANA, Pa. – The Slippery Rock University women's lacrosse team saw its season come to an end Tuesday afternoon with a 5-4 loss on the road at No. 19 Indiana University (Pa.) in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs.
 
The Rock finished the game with advantages in nearly every statistical category, but couldn't solve the game's most valuable player in IUP goalie Angela Lontoc, who made 12 saves to steal the win for her squad.
 
Slippery Rock posted advantages of 21-12 in shots, 22-15 in ground balls and 14-8 in caused turnovers. The Rock forced IUP into 21 turnovers on the day and were nearly perfect on the clear at 18-of-20. Both teams finished with five draw controls.
 
Indiana got timely scoring in the first half, netting goals on three of its first four shots on goal after being outshot early by an 8-3 margin. The Rock clawed one back to trail 3-1 at the break.
 
Indiana added to the margin early in the second half to take a 4-1 lead with 27:20 to play. From there, Slippery Rock took over. The Rock scored the next two goals and had 10 straight offensive possessions with a chance to tie the game, but couldn't find the tying goal.
 
With a man-up chance late in the game SRU turned the ball over after a foul call on a challenge for a loose ball and the restart from that foul sprung Indiana (Pa.) on a wide-open breakaway to take a 5-3 lead with just 5:03 to play.
 
SRU battled back one more time when ShyAnne Toomer came up with a turnover and scored to cut it to 5-4 with 4:01 to play. The Rock had two more possessions, but couldn't find the tying goal as Indiana (Pa.) held on for the win.
 
Tia Torchia paced the Slippery Rock attack with two goals and had eight shots on goal. Bre Vodde and Toomer each tallied one goal to cap the scorers. Emily Bitka made five saves on the 10 shots on goal she faced.
 
Indiana was led by its goalie as Lontoc stole the show with 12 saves on 16 shots on goal. Riley Greenleaf finished the game with two goals, while Adriana Greco, Katie Martyn and Ally Burrows each scored one goal.
 
Slippery Rock finishes the 2017 season with a 12-6 overall record, tied with the 2012 team for the most wins in a single-season in school history. The Rock's six losses on the year came by a combined 10 goals with three one-goal defeats, two losses by two goals and one loss by three goals.