MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth scored the first five goals and then held off a comeback by the Rams in the second half of a 7-4 Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference defensive battle Wednesday night at Zorn Memorial Stadium.

Trailing 5-0 with less than 25 minutes to play, Cornell (3-6 overall, 0-5 MWLC) chipped away at the deficit with three consecutive goals in a five-minute stretch.

Raquel Gassmann (JR/Santee, Calif.) put the Rams on the board off an assist from Nina Deer (JR/Highland Park, Ill.). Then it was Deer converting a free position shot and Carrie Callahan (JR/Iowa City, Iowa) netting an unassisted goal, bringing Cornell within 5-3.

After Monmouth (2-6, 1-4 MWLC) answered with a goal, Cornell's Sydney Swift (JR/Aurora, Colo.) scored to cut the margin to 6-4 with still 15:37 remaining in regulation. But the Fighting Scots would score once more and the Rams' rally faded down the stretch.

Cornell was the aggressor in this match, outshooting Monmouth 30-21 and committing eight fewer turnovers than the home team. Seanne Bialo (JR/Anchorage, Alaska) scooped up a match-high eight ground balls, while Deer caused four turnovers.

Maddie Althoff (JR/Stillwater, Minn.) and Sierra Harris (SR/Green Bay Wis.) split time in net for the Rams. The duo combined for five saves on the night.

Coming up – The Rams conclude the regular season on Saturday at 4 p.m. against second-place Augsburg (4-5, 4-1 MWLC) in Minneapolis, Minn.