STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Franciscan women's lacrosse won its second game of the season, 12-7 over Hilbert College, tying the program record for wins with four games left in the season.

In the first five minutes, it didn't look like the Lady Barons were on their way to a win. The Hawks held the ball a majority of the time and while Franciscan created some quality scoring chances, Hilbert's goalie kept FUS off the board.

Almost 15 minutes into the half, the Hawks, a team the Lady Barons have never beaten, held a 2-0 lead. Then junior attack Tracy McClelland scored on a free position shot and the games momentum swung dramatically in Franciscan's favor.

"We just can't go into games psyching ourselves out and anticipating what the scoreboard is going to look like," head coach Maura Conant said. "Whether you're down or you're up, you just have to stay in the moment because you can't control anything else. That's what we tried to do today."

For the rest of the game the Lady Baron's took care of the things they could control. The team closed our the first half on a 6-1 run with two goals each from McClelland, senior attack Margaret Gargulinski, and freshman attack Mary Krolicki.

Conant said the turnaround was a result of her team focusing more the fundamentals and communications rather than any tactical adjustment. That communication had the biggest impact on both sides of the transition game for FUS.

Their transition defense, one of the team's weakest points throughout the season, tightened up and only allowed eight more shots on goal the rest of the game.

"We were talking on defense. The communication got much better," Conant said of why the defense improved.

The Lady Barons also did a better job of shutting down Megan Smith who scored two goals in the first ten minutes and then didn't score again until FUS was up 10-5.

Smith and Nikki Schneider were the only Hawks to score in the game as Franciscan held them to their smallest score this season. A big part of that defensive effort was junior defender Emily Bedard. The team captain caused two turnovers and was the linchpin in the team's defensive organization.

"Today she really pressured behind the net, she was loud on defense and she can really direct what's going on out there," Conant said.

Offensively the Lady Barons were led by McClelland, who finished with five goals and two assists. She consistently beat defenders one-on-one resulting in goals, assists, or Hawk penalties.

When McClelland wasn't scoring, Krolicki often was. The freshman scored four goals for FUS with on assist, four ground balls, and three draw controls.

The win brings the Lady Barons to 2-7 on the season with a chance at the best record in program history with one more win.

Their next chance at the that will come soon with the team hosting Lourdes College less than 24 hours from the start of their game against Hilbert. The two teams will start at 1 pm on April 12.