STEUBENVILLE – For the first time in program history, the Franciscan women's lacrosse team defeated St. Vincent as the Lady Barons out-lasted the Bearcats 16-12 Tuesday afternoon in Presidents' Athletic Conference action.
 
In seven meetings between the two teams, the Bearcats hold a 6-1 advantage, though the six-game winning streak was snapped today. The 16 goals for Franciscan tie the most goals against the Bearcats while the Lady Barons held St. Vincent to its fewest total goals in a contest with 12.
 
Franciscan took the early lead as senior Elizabeth McEntee picked up her 14^th goal of the year. Senior Elizabeth Dawyot caused a turnover on the other side of the field and kicked off a successful clear for the Lady Barons. Freshman Grace Deegan got the ball behind the cage and got it in McEntee's stick and she one-timed it into the top corner of the net for the 1-0 lead just 1:03 into action. St. Vincent tied it up at 1-1 with 25:53 to play on a free position shot before Franciscan pushed its lead to 3-1 with back to back goals from Deegan.
 
The Bearcats came back and tied the game again with two unanswered goals but three turnovers and a pair of saves from Brittany Bain kept the score knotted. McEntee and McDonald scored back-to-back goals on two straight Lady Baron possessions to push the FUS lead to 5-3 with 13:49 to play. St. Vincent won the next draw and immediately scored to cut the lead back down to one before tying the game again at 5-5 with 11:14 to go.
 
Franciscan then used a 4-0 run to take a 9-5 lead with 4:57 to play in the first. St. Vincent halted the run with a goal with 2:34 to play but Dawyot immediately answered at the 2:29 make to give Franciscan a 10-6 lead at the half.
 
Franciscan opened the second half with a pair of goals from Deegan and senior Treise McCarthy. St. Vincent and the Lady Barons traded the next three goals before the Bearcats cut the lead to 13-9 with 19:59 to play. Franciscan used a 2-1 run over the next 10 minutes to extend its lead to 15-10 but back to back Bearcat goals cut the lead back down to three, 15-12, with 3:34 to play. Deegan put the finishing touches on the 16-12 win with her 46^th goal of the year with 2:20 to play. Franciscan won the draw control but St. Vincent got the ball back and put two more shots on cage, including a free position shot, that were turned away by Bain.
 
Deegan led the team with seven goals and an assist while McDonald finished with three goals and three assists. Deegan won nine draw controls while senior Elizabeth Jordan caused a team-best six turnovers and picked up five ground balls. Bain finished the day with 14 saves for her fourth-straight double-digit save effort.
 
Franciscan will have the week off as they prepare to face Westminster (Pa.) in a key PAC showdown on April 23 at 6:00 pm in New Wilmington, Pa.