Despite an early goal from freshman midfielder Elyssa Cappaert, the Lady Owls were unable to pull off the upset of the No. 24 Lady Ravens in a 5-2 loss in their season opener Monday night.
Cappaert gave William Woods University a quick edge when she notched the unassisted tally in the 3rd minute. However, Maggie Hair answered with an unassisted goal in the 5th minute as Benedictine College pulled even.
The Lady Ravens went on top in the 19th minute when Jordan Francescon delivered the first of her three goals. Francescon followed with a goal in the 35th minute to give Benedictine a 3-1 lead over the Lady Owls.
Bethany Smith was responsible for the Lady Ravens' next goal in the 49th minute and Francescon completed her hat trick a minute later with an unassisted score.
Junior midfielder Jordan McNamara supplied William Woods' final goal in the 57th minute.
McNamara accounted for two of the Lady Owls' three shots on goal, while Benedictine finished with 11. Griffin finished with six saves for William Woods.
"I am very proud of how the team fought," Lady Owls head coach Randy Hall said. "We came out strong in the second half, didn't give up and we played hard the whole game."
The Lady Owls travel to Culver-Stockton College at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5.