WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – With four players each scoring three goals and one of the best defensive efforts of the season, the fourth-seeded Lycoming College women's lacrosse team posted an impressive 14-4 win over No. 5-seed Lebanon Valley in the opening round of the MAC Commonwealth Championship on Tuesday evening, May 2, at the Shangraw Athletic Complex.
 
Sophomore Kelly McGinniss (Randolph, N.J./Randolph), junior Jordan Lazarich (Deer Park, N.Y./Deer Park), freshman Hailey Kimble (Corning, N.Y./Corning-Painted Post) and senior Leanne Shaw (Royersford, Pa./Spring-Ford) each scored three goals as Lycoming used one of its most balanced offensive efforts of the year, connecting 14 times on just 23 shots.
 
Lycoming (10-6 overall) will move on to face No. 1-seed Messiah in the MAC Commonwealth Championship semifinal at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3. Tickets for the game will be available at the gate for $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $2 for students. Children under six will be admitted free.
 
The win was Lycoming's first postseason win since a 10-8 win at Widener in 2010 and the team's third win at home in the postseason in as many opportunities.
 
Lycoming won just six of 19 draw controls, but made up for that by forcing 17 turnovers and holding a 19-11 advantage in groundballs. The Flying Dutchmen took just seven shots in the second half and 16 in the game while facing a determined Lycoming offense.
 
Holding a tenuous 3-2 lead after a Lebanon Valley goal with 16:12 left in the first half, the Warriors took over with four goals in the final four minutes of the half, as Shaw ended a 12-minute scoreless stretch with a free-position goal before Lazarich found McGinniss for a score with 2:53 left. Sophomore Thamina Peti (York, Pa./West York) scored on a free-position shot to the right corner with 45 seconds left and then the Warriors made the most of their last possession of the half, getting the ball with 20 seconds left and scoring with one, as freshman Kayla DiJoseph (Turnersville, N.J./Washington Township) found Lazarich for a score with one second left to make it 7-2 at the break.
 
Lycoming added two more scores in the first seven minutes of the second half to take a 9-2 lead before Lebanon Valley (5-11 overall) scored with 21:35 left. Lycoming answered with five more goals to complete an 11-1 run when Lazarich scored with 5:00 left off a free-position shot to make it 14-3. The Flying Dutchmen closed the gap to 10 as the final moments ticked off.
 
DiJoseph finished with a goal and four assists and Kimble, Lazarich and McGinniss each added an assist. Lazarich also posted three ground balls and senior Victoria Siebecker (Cleona, Pa./Annville-Cleona) finished with three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Freshman Natalie Schroeder (Edgewater, Md./Annapolis) also added three ground balls and a caused turnover.
 
Emma Jones finished with two goals and four draw controls to lead Lebanon Valley and Makenzie Kelley finished with a goal, an assist and a caused turnover.
 
Senior Nicole Gerling (Millstone Township, N.J./Allentown) (10-6) stopped 10 shots to earn the win for the Warriors, making five saves in each half, as well as scooping up three ground balls. Hannah Oliveras (5-11) stopped four shots for the Flying Dutchmen.