SAINT LEO, Fla. – Colorado Mesa women's lacrosse was unable to build on a promising start in its three-game Florida road trip, falling away in the second half to lose 13-7 to No. 19 Saint Leo University in CMU's first road game of 2023.

The loss drops the No. 24 Mavericks to 3-2 on the season, with both losses coming to ranked opponents. The schedule doesn't get easier from here, however, with No. 8 Rollins on deck on Thursday and No. 6 Florida Southern on Saturday morning.

Shannon Murphy made 16 saves in net to double her previous career high. Mavericks leading scorer Kiley Davis netted two more goals to take her total to 21 for the year while five separate Mavs scored once: Regan Wentz, Courtney Havel, Peyton Ivey, Taylor Jakeman and Xcaret Salvador.

The game appeared to be a nailbiter throughout the first half. Saint Leo jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but Wentz's goal and Davis's two strikes with 2:44 and 1:01 to go in the first quarter gave CMU a 3-2 lead over the hosts after fifteen minutes.

The Lions countered with another run, scoring three straight within the first five-and-a-half minutes of the second period. But the Mavs had an answer, as Courtney Havel scored and Peyton Ivey found the net with 2:56 to go in the half to knot the score at 5-5 at the midway point.

Saint Leo had a third punch, however, and the Mavericks didn't. After both sides traded goals early in the period, the Lions scored seven unanswered goals as the Mavericks were held scoreless for over 20 minutes of game time. Xcaret Salvador netted one back for CMU with 5:48 remaining, but that only made things a six-goal game, which was the final scoring margin.

Saint Leo outshot the Mavs 37-23 and picked up 17 ground balls to Colorado Mesa's 11. Ashlee Wilsynski scored four goals to lead Saint Leo while Fiona McLaughlin had three goals for the Lions.
The Mavs have one day off before hitting the field in Winter Park, Florida against Rollins. That game is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. MT.