Above – Megan Asper scored four goals and won six draw controls vs. Limestone. Photo courtesy of FSCMocs.com LAKELAND – In their first true test of the season, No. 10 Florida Southern came up just short of pulling off the upset against No. 3 Limestone, falling 14-13 at Bryant Stadium The loss ends the Mocs’ search for a perfect season and drops their record to 4-1, while the win give the Saints a 7-0 record and most likely keeps them together with LIU-Post and Adelphi as the top three teams in Division II. Junior Megan Asper (Parkton, Md.) kicked off the game with an unassisted goal at 27:59 to give the Mocs the lead. Limestone answered right back with their first goal 2:43 later to knot the game at one. Freshman Kendall Kerge (Edgewater, Md.) gave FSC the lead at 22:48 on an assist by junior Caitlin Chase (Mt. Laurel, N.J.). Limestone’s offense exploded after Kerge’s goal, scoring seven unanswered goals in a span of nine minutes to pull ahead of Florida Southern 8-2 with less than six minutes remaining in the first half. Florida Southern battled back with a toughened defense that led to them netting four out of five goals scored in the last six minutes of the first half to go into the break trailing 9-6. The Mocs drew to within three of the third-ranked Saints with scores from junior Lorianne Hoover (Annapolis, Md.), sophomore Marissa Braden (Stuart, Fla.), Chase and Asper. Hoover picked up right where Florida Southern left off with an unassisted score at 27:42 of the second half, followed by goals from sophomore Meghan Colucci (Glocester, R.I.) and Asper, to tie the score at 9-9 with much of the half still to play. In one of the strangest goals scored on the day, Chase put a slap-shot past the Limestone goalie to give Florida Southern their first lead of the contest since 22:48 of the first half. The lead wouldn’t last as Limestone scored their next two goals at 18:53 and 13:15, both on free position shots, to pull ahead 11-10 before Colucci’s second score of the afternoon tied the game at 11-11. Limestone scored 45 seconds later to go up on the Mocs, and scored what was definitely the most bizarre and sudden goal of the contest to increase that lead. A Limestone attacker’s shot was saved by senior Katie Hammerer (California, Md.), and the All-American was looking to make a clear when the Saint player batted the ball out of the air along the crease and into the back of the next to give Limestone a two-goal lead with 9:16 remaining. The Moccasins continued to fight back with back-to-back goals unassisted goals by Asper and Hoover to tie the score at 13-13 with 4:32 still to play. Any thoughts of overtime were dashed when Limestone buried the game-winner past Hammerer with 3:31 remaining to go up by one. The Saints withstood a Moccasin comeback and ran out the clock to preserve the win. Asper led all Moccasins in scoring with four goals on the afternoon, while Chase led the team in total points with five off two goals and three assists. Hoover and Colucci were the only other Florida Southern players with multiple goals, with Hoover scoring a hat-trick and Colucci registering two goals. The captain Asper also led the Mocs with four draw controls, while tying with freshmen Marissa Clements (Eldersburg, Md.) and Parrisa Sakinejad (Millers, Md.) and sophomore Grace Donovan (Boise, Idaho) with three ground balls. Sakinejad also led the team in caused turnovers with three, while Hammerer made 10 saves in a losing effort, her first of the season. Carleigh Davis led the Saints in scoring with four goals, including the game-winner, while Katie Farrell (3 G, 1 A) and Sarah Oor (1 G, 3 A) tied Davis in total points with four. Davis also led with six draw controls on the afternoon and scored on her only free position attempt. Sydney Teeter made five saves in the win to keep the Saints record unblemished. Florida Southern hits the turf again on Saturday, Mar. 15, when the host No. 7 Stonehill and Young Harris in a doubleheader of women’s lacrosse action. The Mocs tangle with the Skyhawks at 11 a.m. before finishing the day against Mountain Lions at 7 p.m., with both games being played in the friendly confines of Bryant Stadium.