The Saint Louis University Field Hockey team made its conference debut last weekend, posting a 2-1 victory over Rhode Island and suffering a heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Massachusetts.

The Billikens played their inaugural Atlantic 10 game last Friday, and it was one to remember.

SLU grabbed a 1-0 lead just 17 seconds into the game.

Freshman forward Mary Henry took a pass from sophomore Catherine Donovan, and her shot found the back of the net.

“Knowing that it was our A-10 opener and that we wanted to enter the conference making a statement, our adrenaline allowed us to dominate early and keep control throughout the game,” senior midfielder Carin Boone said.

“Scoring within the first 17 seconds really contributed to the momentum and intensity and helped us hold our own.”

The Henry-Donovan combination connected again, just over 15 minutes into the match to give SLU a 2-0 lead.

Donovan served a pass to Henry from the corner, and Henry took care of the rest, once again beating the Rhode Island goalie.

Henry’s impressive performance contributed to her being named the A-10 Rookie of the Week for the week, ending Oct. 9.

She had three goals, two of which were game-winners, during that span.

Henry is also second on the team in points with 11 (5G, 1A).

“It’s great when a freshman can make such an impact right away, and Mary has been a great asset to the forward line this year,” Boone said. “Mary is a great eliminator and finisher, but every single person on the team is an important component to the success of this season, and all of our goals are team efforts, starting from defense and traveling up the field.”

Rhode Island managed to cut its deficit in half six minutes later, and the score stood at 2-1 at the break.

Yet sophomore goalie Amy Wasserman-along with the rest of the Billiken defense-stifled Rhode Island in the second half; Wasserman made five huge saves, and the Billikens held on for a 2-1 victory.

Massachusetts was all that stood between the Billikens and a 2-0 conference record.

The Billikens struck first and grabbed a 1-0 lead at the 28:15 mark. Boone found fellow senior Courtney Gasparovic, who fired a low shot that eluded the UMass goalie.

The Minutewomen mounted a comeback and tied the game at 1-1 just three minutes later.

Massachusetts then took advantage of a penalty shot early in the second half to claim a 2-1 lead.

Now it was the Billikens’ turn to respond.

Sophomore midfielder Kristin Lueders knotted the score at 2-2 on an unassisted goal in the 45:06 mark.

With the score deadlocked in the closing seconds, overtime seemed imminent. Massachusetts, however, scored the game-winning goal with six-tenths of a second remaining in regulation.

“Although we dominated the majority of play, in the last seconds we may have let down our guard, already preparing for overtime,” Boone said. “Unfortunately, this lapse let in a goal and, with six-tenths of a second remaining, there wasn’t much of an opportunity to come back.”

While the game did not end as the Billikens would have hoped, the team still took much from the loss.

“Despite the unfavorable ending, we were all proud of our play. Since it was a such a well-played game, we definitely learned a lesson about scoring early and not taking a lead for granted,” Boone said.

The Billikens (5-8, 1-1) are in action against Temple on Friday at 2:30 p.m.