BUFFALO, N.Y.— After the 2020 season ended abruptly just four games into the year, the Buffalo State women's lacrosse team endured a long wait for today's season opener at D'Youville, and despite the result, an 12-8 loss, simply returning to competition was a victory for the players and coaches. 
 
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE:  D'Youville – 12, Buffalo State - 8
LOCATION: Dobson Field - Buffalo, NY
RECORDS: D'Youville (1-3), Buffalo State (0-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Samantha Burlow (West Seneca/Buffalo Seminary) and Kacey Stack (Blasdell/Frontier) led the Bengals with three goals apiece. 
Julia Wachna (Syracuse/Onondaga) added a goal and an assist, and Anisa Mahmood (Niagara Falls/Niagara Falls) also scored.
Janae Nelson (Elmont/Elmont) finished with 10 saves.
D'Youville jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game before Buffalo State settled in and responded with a 5-1 run into the early going in the second half to cut the deficit to two.
Buffalo State would not be able to close the gap any more however, as the Saints outscored the Bengals 5-2 over the final 25 minutes.
D'Youville outshot Buffalo State 26-13 for the game, including 22-10 on goal.
 
FOR THE FOES
Danielle Thompson led D'Youville with four goals. 
Bethany Wolcott added three goals and one assist.
 
Buffalo State will open its SUNYAC slate at home against Fredonia on Wednesday at 4 p.m.