FERRUM, Va.— The Montreat women's lacrosse team traveled to Virginia Saturday afternoon for another road non-conference game against the Ferrum College Panthers. Trailing by as many as seven goals in the second half, the Cavaliers nearly came away with the victory, falling to its NCAA Division III foe in overtime, 19-18. With the defeat, the Cavs dropped to 0-2 on the season.
 
Ferrum (1-0) struck first with the opening goal 98 seconds into the contest, and the Panthers scored the initial three goals of the afternoon to seize a 3-0 lead midway through the quarter.
 
Aleea Bone got the Cavs onto the scoresheet at the 7:52 mark with an unassisted tally. Then, after another Ferrum goal, Montreat rattled off back-to-back goals late in the frame to pull within a score (4-3). Mina Hicks registered the former goal after receiving a pass from Kate Gauntlett with 2:38 on the clock, and Hicks assisted on the latter goal, which came 68 seconds later from the stick of Izzy Knight.
 
Gauntlett's first strike of the day leveled the scoreboard at four just 2:43 into the second period, but the Panthers controlled the remainder of the frame. Scoring eight of the final 10 goals, including a sequence of six straight, the Panthers entered halftime with a 12-6 lead. Dovie Yates (2:39) and Bone (0:08) registered Montreat's final two goals of the half to keep within shouting distance of the hosts.
 
Despite doubling up the Cavaliers on the scoreboard, Ferrum only held a 19-16 edge in shots at the break. Bone led the visitors with a pair of tallies at halftime, while Hicks and Gauntlett notched two assists each.
 
Ferrum led 12-6 after the first half, but the Cavs flipped the score with their own 12-6 scoring advantage in the second half. Montreat peppered the Panther goalie with 18 second half shot attempts as the visitors placed 66.7 percent of those tries in the back of the net.
 
In a 7-goal third quarter, Hicks bagged a pair of goals to become the first of five Cavaliers who eventually totaled hat tricks on the day. Hannah Jarboe also scored her first of the season to help pull Montreat within 15-11 entering the final 15 minutes of regulation.
 
Knight, Bone and Gauntlett all recorded their third goals of the contest in the fourth quarter as Knight tied the game at both 15 and 16, and Gauntlett evened the score at 17. Then, with time winding down, Yates scored what appeared to be the game-winner with her third goal in the final seconds; however, with only 10.1 seconds on the clock, Ferrum won the draw control and sprinted down the field, getting a shot off and tying contest at 18 with less than a second left.
 
Playing with new life, the Panthers capitalized on their opportunity and scored the golden goal 49 seconds into overtime, claiming a 19-18 win in the process.
 
Both teams finished the day with 34 shots taken, while Montreat held a slim 24-23 edge in shots on target. Ferrum also caused more turnovers (16-9) and committed fewer turnovers overall (26-18).
 
Gauntlett and Knight paced Montreat with four goals each, while the trio of Bone, Hicks and Yates scored three goals apiece. A native of Dawsonville, Ga., Gauntlett led the visitors with five assists, and Hicks contributed three. Six of the 11 Cavaliers who saw action picked up multiple groundballs.
 
The Montreat women's lacrosse team hosts the Truett McConnell University Bears for its Appalachian Athletic Conference and home opener this Wednesday. Opening draw control is slated for 5:00 p.m. at Pulliam Stadium in Black Mountain, N.C.