WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Catholic women's lacrosse team opened up their season at home against third-ranked Salisbury on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals fought hard in the match, but fell to the Seagulls 17-9.

Catholic struck first in the match with a goal from senior Tori Wilsey, assisted by Izzy Fiore. Henley Bredemann picked up the second goal for the Cardinals, assisted by Annie Galarza, to go up 2-0 over the Seagulls. Salisbury began to respond in the fourth minute, with a goal from Julianna Ott to put them on the board, and the equalizer coming seconds later from Regan McDonnell. The Seagulls led by three heading into the second quarter.

The Seagulls continued to extend their lead in the second quarter, adding three more goals to their tally, but the Cardinals continued to fight to narrow the gap. Lindsay Sawyer notched two goals in the second, the first assisted by Maddie McDevitt. The Cardinals trailed 8-4 heading into the intermission.

Catholic wasted no time coming out of the halftime break, scoring the first two goals of the third quarter. Maggie Traynor got things started in the opening minute, and Ellie Verrill followed soon after with a goal assisted by Bredemann. Bredemann later picked up her second goal of the game on a feed from Fiore, cutting the lead to two. The Cardinals headed into the fourth quarter down 14-7.

McDevitt and Olivia Eikenberg each added a goal in the fourth quarter, but the Seagulls managed to keep building their lead, ultimately taking down the Cardinals 17-9.

Bredemann and Sawyer led the Cardinals with two goals apiece, while Fiore stood out as a playmaker, dishing out two assists. Bredemann also added an assist to lead with three points.

Wilsey led the team in draw controls with seven and ground balls with three. She also also logged four shots on the night. Olivia Daniels followed Wilsey with three draws.

Kelly Bunnick and Alexandra Ragano each had strong starts to their sophomore seasons, Bunnick leading the Cardinals with three caused turnovers and a ground ball against the Seagulls and Ragano recording an impressive 10 saves in the game.

Catholic will head to Ewing, N.J. where they will take on TCNJ in their first road match of the season. The game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21.