BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Despite a late comeback attempt, the Bridgewater College women's lacrosse team fell 10-9 to second place Shenandoah on Wednesday at the Jopson Athletic Complex.

Meredith Wimbrow had a hat trick and added an assist, while Claire Palermo-Re scored two goals. Defensively, Caroline Augsburger caused three turnovers and picked up three ground balls while goalie Rachel Gruber made 10 saves.

Trailing 10-5 late, the Eagles stormed back with four goals in a span of 3:10. Wimbrow gave Bridgewater an opening by picking up a loose ball and scoring to start the run.

Jenna Devilbiss followed less than a minute later. Palermo-Re shaved the deficit to two with 4:15 on the clock, and Jesse Colligan made it 10-9 with 3:42 to play.

Bridgewater ultimately was shown its fifth yellow card of the game with 2:44 to go, and although they briefly regained possession after killing off the penalty, a final turnover ended the comeback.

Overall, the Eagles conceded two man-up goals and played over seven minutes shorthanded.

Bridgewater was called offsides in the fourth minute of action, opening up a clear path for Sabina Rasoulov to drive in for a quick 2-0 Shenandoah advantage.

Devilbiss had a shot saved from outside, and then was stopped down low on a free position shot later in the possession.

Shenandoah went the other way but Augsburger forced a turnover, cleared, and assisted fellow senior Paige Hennessy for the Eagle's first of the day. Wimbrow later scored on an eight-meter chance to the tie the game at 2-2 with 14:49 left in the half.

Playing down after a yellow card, Gruber turned the ball over on a clear but then came up with a tough save on Miranda Rudacille. The Eagles failed on another clear soon after however and Cortney Gensemer made them pay for a 4-2 SU lead.

Wimbrow's second eight-meter goal, and her 30th tally of the year, kept Bridgewater close in the second half at 7-5. Shenandoah responded just 20 seconds later however, with a strike from Annie McCorry.

Played shorthanded again in the second half, Gruber made four saves on the same Shenandoah possession- three on free position shots. Augsburger finally cleared, but SU goalie Rachel Levy (eight saves) made an outstanding low save on Annie Sullivan with the sides back to even strength.

Shenandoah got hat tricks from Rudacille and McCorry, while Liz Bereit scored once and dished out three assists.

It was the final home game for three Eagle seniors- Augsburger, Hennessy, and defender Brittany Lanahan (two caused turnovers).

Bridgewater (6-8, 3-5) remains a half-game back of Virginia Wesleyan for the sixth and final ODAC playoff spot. The Eagles need Wesleyan to lose to Shenandoah this weekend, which could open the door to a three-way tiebreaker in BC can beat Guilford on the road Saturday. Guilford (7-7, 3-5) broke a halftime deadlock tonight to defeat Randolph 19-10.

Shenandoah, with 14 freshmen on a roster of 21 players, improves to 10-3 and 7-1 in the ODAC.