WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Three Lycoming College players finished with a hat trick and the team scored six of the final seven goals to lift itself to a key 14-9 MAC Commonwealth win over Widener University on Sunday, April 10, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
The win gives Lycoming its second straight 10-win season, as it improved to 10-1 overall and 2-1 in the MAC Commonwealth, while it was also the team's first win over the Pride (5-5 overall, 2-1 MAC Commonwealth) since a 10-8 win in the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship first round in 2010. It is the first time the Warriors have compiled back-to-back 10-win campaigns since 2006-07 and first-year head coach Karen Shaddock is the second Warrior coach to post a 10-win campaign to begin her career, joining Katherine Roberts, whose 2001 squad went 11-5.
 
Senior Meghenn Jackson (Arnold, Md./Broadneck/Anne Arundel C.C.) again led the team, posting five goals and two assists to give her 56 goals (tied for eighth in school history) and 28 assists (tied for fifth) on the season. Her 84 points are now just eight shy of the school record of 92 set by Brenda MacPhail in 2000. Jackson also tied for the team lead with four draw controls and she led the squad with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.
 
The team also continued to do a solid job off draw controls, winning 14-of-24 in the game, as freshman Kelly McGinniss (Randolph, N.J./Randolph) grabbed four to give her 73 on the season, which is second in school history and, with six games remaining, just 15 shy of the school record of 88 set by Brooke Strausser in 2013.
 
Sophomore Jordan Lazarich (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park) also had a fine game, posting four goals and two assists to give her 106 points in her career, while McGinniss notched three goals, three ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
Lycoming got off to a fast start, scoring the first four goals of the game in the first seven minutes, with McGinniss and junior Leanne Shaw (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) each scoring off free-position shots to close the run. Widener bounced back with four goals to tie the game with 7:33 left in the first half, but Lazarich darted in with an unassisted goal just three minutes later. After Brooke Clasing's fifth goal of the half tied the score with 2:22 left, Jackson won a draw control, sprinted the rest of the field and scored to respond. The Warriors struck again thanks to a foul call with three seconds left. Off the restart, Jackson found a wide open senior Kelsey Harshman (Hamilton Square, N.J./Steinert), who drove in for a goal as time expired in the period, sending Lycoming into the break with a 7-5 lead.
 
In the second half, Widener scored three of the first four goals to tie the game at eight with 26:09 remaining, but Lycoming responded quickly with three straight goals, two coming from Jackson and one from Lazarich to make it 11-8 with 23:43 left. After the flurry of goals, things settled down a bit, although Clasing scored her eighth goal of the game to draw the Pride within two at 11-9 with 18:33 left. The Warriors responded with 10:16 left, as McGinniss took a pass from Lazarich, dove in front of the crease and found the back of the net with 10:16 left. In the final moments, the Warriors added two more goals to make up the final margin.
 
Harshman finished with a goal, an assist and two ground balls and freshman Thamina Peti (York, Pa./West York) notched three ground balls and caused two turnovers. Senior Erica Spero (Chantilly, Va./Chantilly) added three caused turnovers and two ground balls.
 
Clasing led the Pride with eight goals and Meghan Garvey posted four assists and four draw controls. Kelly Dreher led the squad with three caused turnovers and five ground balls.
 
Junior Nicole Gerling (Millstone Township, N.J./Allentown) improved to 10-1 on the year in net, as she made seven saves and picked up three ground balls in her 25^th career win. Widener's Grace Morales (5-5) stopped 12 shots in the loss.
 
The Warriors get back on the field on Wednesday, April 13, when they head to perennial MAC Commonwealth power Stevenson University for a 7 p.m. game.