GETTYSBURG, Pa. — The Catholic University women's lacrosse team dropped a non-conference contest to nationally-ranked Gettysburg on Wednesday night.

Despite a spirited effort that saw Catholic applying pressure to the Bullets midway through the third quarter, No. 2 Gettysburg ultimately pulled away and downed the Cardinals, 19-6. 

It was a defensive battle in the first half as Meghan McDonogh's side held Gettysburg's high-powered offense to just seven. The first quarter was even more cagey as the Bullets pulled out to a 2-0 lead before Jessie Lee cashed in one a free-positive shot in the final minute of the period to half the deficit. Lauren Davidson made three saves in the opening 15 minutes to maintain the strong rear-guard action.

Gettysburg began to find a groove in the second quarter, rattling off four consecutive tallies before an Izzy Fiore unassisted strike ended the run. Jordan Basso, who netted seven goals on the evening, scored with 34 seconds remaining to ensure the Bullets entered the halftime interval with a 7-2 lead.

Gettysburg got the first goal of the third quarter after over five minutes of scoreless play, but the Cardinals offered an immediate response through Mia Perkell. The junior won the draw control and went straight to goal, scoring just nine seconds after the Bullet marker.

Catholic gave away a free position that was punished by Gettysburg soon after but the Cardinals responded again, this time through Lindsay Sawyer. The sophomore scored on a free-position attempt of her own before Perkell cashed in on a Rachel Rubenstein caused turnover to score her second of the night. Catholic's two goals came 31 second apart and forced a Gettysburg timeout at 9-5.

It was all Bullets after that, however, as they put together a 6-0 run to end the quarter and effectively put the game out of reach.

Freshman Ellie Verrill scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the fourth quarter. Jill Kennedy played well for Catholic, securing six draw controls, scooping up one ground ball and taking three shots, all of which were on cage. Riley Martin won two draw controls and caused one turnover.

The Cardinals will look to bounce back next time out against No. 11 Wesleyan. Catholic will enjoy a weekend off from competitive action before welcoming the Cardinals to Carlini Field for a 3 p.m. start.