LATROBE, Pa. – Franciscan women's lacrosse continued to rely on their high-powered offense in their 23-16 road loss to St. Vincent College.

The Lady Baron's 16 goals are the team's third most in a game this season and the most the program has ever scored against the Bearcats.

"In the first half we were scoring on mostly fastbreaks but in the second we started to settle the ball more," head coach Maura Conant said. "Off-ball movement is key to creating the opportunity to score and all our attackers and midfielders were really able to move around, particularly off-ball."

The second half offense rallied off seven straight goals, pulling the Lady Barons within four of the Bearcats with just under 13 minutes left.

"That was pretty exciting. We wish that we had gone on that run a little bit earlier," Conant said.

After the seven-goal rally, the Bearcats answered and eventually pulled away with the game. Franciscan's inability to complete the comeback was directly related to their continued struggles in their transition defense. Those struggles made the job of replacement goalkeeper Catherine Cahill, normally a defender, even more difficult as she filled in for starter Savannah Ruhe.

When FUS was able to force St. Vincent into its settled offense, things went better for the Lady Barons. Cahill was able to save nine shots while the FUS defenders gave up no free position shots for the first time this season, something the team has been working on all year.

"The unity of these girls is the reason they're able to work so hard and improve," Conant said. "If you have one another's back, that shows on the field and you're going to fight for your teammates. They're just coming together so well." 

Another statistical highlight for Franciscan was the performance of junior Lauren Noce at the draw circle. The midfielder won 10 of the Lady Baron's 18 draw control wins to go along with her three goals and one assist. Noce's three goals tied her for second on the team with freshman Mackenzie Jaros. The team leader was junior attacker Tracy McClelland with five goals.

Conant also said that utility players Anne Foster, Elizabeth Giroux, and Christine Lustenberger played a strong game, helping more on offense when subbing in for the team's other offensive players.

"They just did a good job maintaining possession on settled attacks," Conant said. "We get to see the future and see what this team of capable of with them."

The Lady Barons will continue their season with their first home game of the year against Ursuline College on April 8 at 3:30 pm.