FERRUM, Va. – In a non-conference matchup at Ferrum, the Bridgewater Eagles women's lacrosse team held the lead in the opening minutes but an early second-half run by the Panthers provided to be too much to overcome as the Eagles dropped a tight 16-15 matchup on the road.

Bridgewater got off to a quick start with back-to-back goals over the first four minutes from seniors Jenny Logan and Megan Bach to own a 2-0 lead early. Logan notched the first goal off of a free position shot, before Bach took a Logan pass and put the ball past the keeper to give the Eagles a two-goal advantage.

Ferrum knotted the game up with two goals of its own before the two teams traded goals in a see-saw affair with the game remaining tied at four each when Bach tallied her second goal of the game with 19 and change to play in the first.

Over the final 19-plus minutes of the first half, Ferrum outscored Bridgewater by a 5-to-2 tally to own a 9-6 lead as the two teams headed to the locker room, with a Taylor Chamberlain goal being the final score of the first half for both teams.

Sophomore Katie Freeman joined Bach as the Eagles multi-goal scorers over the game's first 30 minutes with two goals apiece.

Out of the intermission, Freeman netted the hat trick with the first goal of the half to cut the gap to 9-7 before a four-goal spurt from the Panthers put the Eagles in a 13-7 hole with 18:35 to play.

Bridgewater responded with a ferocious rally of its own as the Eagles netted four unanswered goals, including a pair of tallies from Freeman, one of which was with a man-up, to cut the deficit back to a manageable two goals at a 14-12 tally with just under six minutes to play.

Ferrum pushed its lead back to three goals with under two minutes to left before a Bach tally with 1:36 remaining brought Bridgewater to within striking distance.

Logan tallied the final goal of the game as time expired, but the comeback bid came up short as the Eagles fell by a 16-15 margin.

Freeman paced the Eagles on the day with five goals, while Bach and Chamberlain each netted three-goal games in the loss.

In the cage, Laura Reynolds turned away five Ferrum shots to record the loss.

Ferrum was paced offensively by a seven-goal effort from Brooke Hewartson, while Amanda Cheney turned away 16 Bridgewater shots to earn the win.

Bridgewater is back in action on Thursday when they tangle with SUNY-IT in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Action is set for a high noon start.