EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. – An 82^nd minute goal proved to be the difference maker as the Wilkes University women's soccer team fell to the visiting Marywood University Pacers in a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at Bruggeworth Field Wednesday night.

Wilkes falls to 4-4-2 with the loss against their final non-conference opponent of the year, while Marywood improves to 9-1-0.

The Colonels drew first blood in the third minute as Sarah Straup (Pennsburg, PA/Upper Perkiomen) got on the end of a cross from Erin Edwards (East Greenville, PA/Upper Perkiomen) to finish the point-blank challenge and take a 1-0 lead. Jess Shea (Somerset, NJ/Franklin) doubled the lead in the 16^th minute after a cross from Edwards for her second assist of the day.

Momentum quickly shifted in favor of the Pacers, as Bryn Stiles found the back of the net three minutes later to make it a 2-1 game. An own goal in the 37^th minute then equalized the game at two before halftime.

The Pacers took the lead in the 56^th minute on a goal from Carly Walters to open the second half scoring, before Hannah Dennison's (Limerick, PA/Spring-Ford) first career goal put the Colonels back level at three after a low cross from Taylor Anthony (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) in front of the goal.

In an increasingly physical second half, which saw eight fouls to five in the first half, Riley Bittenbender scored the game-winning goal to lift the Pacers to a 4-3 win.

Shea, Straup, and Maggie Allen (Brick, NJ/Brick Memorial) led the team with two shots each, with Edwards registering a team-high two assists. In goal, Delaney Yaracs (Butler, PA/Butler) made three saves.
Walters led the Pacers with five shots, while Genevieve Morrison made four saves between the sticks.

The Colonels now prepare to return to Landmark Conference play, kicking off a three-game road trip at Juniata College on Saturday, October 4^th at 1:00 p.m.