The Lafayette women’s lacrosse team put together a resilient performance on Saturday afternoon in Worcester, Mass., but the effort wasn’t enough in the end as Holy Cross slipped away over the final five minutes to send the Leopards to a 16-14 defeat. The Leopards trailed by as many as six in the contest, down 9-3 with 8:31 to play in the opening quarter. But they fought back with four straight around the halftime break to make it 9-7 with 26:42 remaining. Holy Cross answered at 25:12 to stop the run, but scores from junior Hannah Davey and senior co-captain Kristin Schaen were the Leopards’ response to pull within one at 10-9 with 20:32 on the clock. The teams traded goals over the next 10 minutes before back-to-back eight-meter strikes from junior Jane Kirby knotted the game at 13-13 with 9:32 to play. That stretch seemed to kill the energy of the visitors, though, as Holy Cross refocused to the tune of three straight over the next eight minutes to push back out to a three-goal edge with 1:25 to play. Schaen added a free-position tally in the final minute, but it was too little, too late in a 16-14 defeat. Kirby was outstanding on the afternoon, registering seven points with six by way of goals, moving her career number to 93. Schaen tied her career-high with four scores, while sophomore Bella Alampi was the other multi-goal scorer with a pair. Davey led the way in draw controls with nine, a game-high, to go along with a goal and an assist. The Leopards used three different goalies on the day with senior co-captain Anna Raymond the most effective, making three saves and allowing five goals in 29:40 of action. Freshman Quinn Lacy was saddled with the loss, moving her record to 3-3 in her inaugural season. The Crusaders held the advantage in shots, 38-29, and ground balls, 21-15, while Lafayette won the draw control battle by a slim 16-15 margin. The Leopards were excellent from the eight-meter spots, converting 8-of-12 for the game off free-position. The Maroon and White return to Fisher Stadium for their next contest on Saturday, hosting Boston U. as the second game of a doubleheader, with opening draw tentatively scheduled for 4 p.m.