(York, Pa.) – The Dickinson women's lacrosse team opened the 2017 season on Wednesday, traveling to #10-ranked York College. The Red Devils turned in a strong performance in their first outing, but the Spartans pulled away in the second half for an 11-5 win.

The Red Devils struck first after a senior goaltender Tara Cuddihy (Basking Ridge, N.J./Ridge) turned away an early free position attempt by the Spartans. Sophomore Maddie Parker (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) capitalized on an extra-man opportunity to put Dickinson on the board at the 27:21 mark.

The Spartans pulled even with another free position attempt as Devin Hursey converted, just two minutes later. The teams traded goals with senior Maddy Siebold (Mountain Lakes, N.J./Mountain Lakes) scoring on a free position, with 19:50 remaining in the half.

Sophomore Eleanor Kaestner (Glyndon, Md./Franklin) traded free position goals with Hursey before Meghan Fox struck twice to put the Spartans in front, 5-3, with 11:55 to play in the first half.

Cuddihy turned away a pair of shots with a pair of big saves and sophomore Anne Dunster (Cos Cob, Conn./Greenwich) cut the deficit to one, with 3:44 on the clock. York wasted little time as Fox fed Melissa Meehling, just 30 seconds later to give the Spartans a 6-4 advantage at halftime.

York scored off the opening draw of the second half and scored on a fast-break to quickly extend the lead to 8-4. Regan Cook tallied back-to-back goals for a 10-4 advantage before Kaestner found the net on a free position to break up the run, with 22:08 remaining.

Both defenses held for the next 10 minutes before Fox tallied her third of the game to put York in front, 11-5, with just under 12 minutes to play.

The Spartans gained possession on the draw and looked to run some clock with a settled offense. The Red Devils held on three straight possessions but were unable to cut into the deficit on the attacking end. Cuddihy made a pair of big saves, including a remarkable diving effort to keep the margin at 11-5.

The score would hold over the final 12 minutes as York improves to 2-0 on the season. Rachel Saks led the Spartans with two goals and two assists while Charlotte Wright made seven saves and Abby Smith stopped a pair on the day.

Kaestner scored twice for the Red Devils while sophomore Tara Cassidy (Glen Rock, N.J./Immaculate Heart Academy) controlled four ground balls and caused three turnovers. Seibold added three GBs and three caused turnovers as well. Cuddihy finished with 10 saves, stopping 3-of-5 free position shots.

The Red Devils (0-1) are on the road again on Saturday, traveling to the Roland Park Country School to face St. Mary's College of Maryland at 12:00 pm.