BUFFALO, N.Y. — The D'Youville Saints faced a tough challenge Saturday afternoon at Dobson Field, taking on No. 7 Slippery Rock, who entered the contest undefeated. Despite facing one of the top teams in the nation, D'Youville continued to battle throughout the game, ultimately falling 19-4.

Slippery Rock jumped out to an early lead, scoring seven goals in the opening quarter and controlling possession behind strong draw control play. The Rock carried a 7-0 advantage into the second quarter before extending the lead with two quick goals early in the period.

D'Youville broke through midway through the second when Sam Newlin found the back of the net off an assist from Ireland Costigan, getting the Saints on the board. Slippery Rock responded with a scoring run to take a 14-1 lead into halftime.

The Saints showed resilience in the second half, generating more offensive opportunities and tightening up defensively. Madison McGinn opened the third-quarter scoring for D'Youville, finishing a feed from Madison Buck to cut into the deficit. Later in the quarter, Danielle Gephart added another goal to give the Saints their third of the afternoon.

In the fourth quarter, Buck capped off a strong performance by converting a free-position opportunity to score D'Youville's final goal of the game. Buck finished with a goal and an assist to lead the Saints' offense, while Newlin, McGinn, and Gephart each added a goal.

Defensively, goalkeeper Kaylee Farias was busy in net for D'Youville, recording 17 saves while facing 47 shots from the Slippery Rock attack. The Saints also collected 18 ground balls, with Farias leading the team with four and several players contributing multiple pickups.

D'Youville continued to compete throughout the second half against the nationally ranked opponent, but Slippery Rock's early offensive surge proved too much to overcome.

The Saints will look to build on the positives from the matchup as they continue their early-season schedule.