BETHLEHEM, PA. – Senior midfielder Lindsey Ewertsen and sophomore attacker Alexandria Absey each recorded hat tricks, but the Columbia women's lacrosse team fell, 13-10, in a tightly-contested game at Lehigh on Tuesday afternoon. The Lions move to 2-4 (0-1 Ivy League), while Lehigh improves to 3-2 on the season.
 
After Lehigh posted the opening goal, Ewertsen got the scoring started for the Lions, gathering a draw control and gunning straight for the goal. Off an assist from sophomore attacker Chelsea Witteck, Absey gave Columbia a 2-1 lead with 26:39 to play in the first half. The Mountain Hawks went on to tally six of the next seven goals, but Ewertsen would score the final goal of the period for a 7-4 halftime tally.
 
The Lions came out of the locker room with urgency, mounting a major comeback by scoring four of the first five goals in the second half to tie things up at 8-8 with 16:53 to play. Lehigh responded with a pair of quick goals, and despite coming within one goal twice, the Lions would never fully recover.
 
Led by Absey and Ewertsen's combined six goals, five Lions contributed to the scoring efforts against the Mountain Hawks. Witteck added two goals for her second multiple-goal game of the season, while first-year attacker Rachel Graff and senior midfielder Orna Madigan each tacked on one goal apiece.
 
Ewertsen also led the Lions with a game-high six draw controls in the outing, moving her career draw control count to 187. She needs only seven more to tie Taylor Quinn '17CC as the program's career leader in the category. Her two ground balls on the day also moved her into second place on Columbia's career list with 152, surpassing Kate Lombard '07CC, who had 151.
 
Junior goalkeeper Abby Roberts collected a career-high 11 saves in the outing, playing all 60 minutes in goal for Columbia. It was her second game of the season tallying double-digit saves after making 10 stops against San Diego State.
 
The Lions make the long-awaited return home on Saturday, March 9, bringing in Cornell for the first home Ivy League contest of the season. First draw is set for 1 p.m. ET at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium.
 
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