Franciscan 15, Saint Vincent 14

Franciscan Starters 
Mary Bohli, Grace Deegan, Joanna Hilkert, Margaret McKee, Riley O'Brien, Carolyn Cooke, Kiera Wilson, Ashley Morisey, Kiera Wilson, Veronica Sims, Theresa Lyle, & Goalkeeper- Rose Kane  

Saint Vincent Starters
Bandow, Edwards, Mulloneaux, Starner, Hochard, Thatcher, Volna, Doyle, Walters, Persin, Basala, & Goalie - Nicely

How It Happened 
    The Women's Lacrosse teams faced the St. Vincent Bearcats at home last night in the PAC Quarterfinals and punched their ticket for Meadville to face Allegheny in the Semifinals. Last night's game was an example for the If Only's and the Shoulda-Coulda-Wouldas on how to rise to the occasion and not fall to the excuses. 
    In the regular season matchup, the Barons traveled to the Bearcats and lost by one goal. The Bearcats found a way to completely eliminate the Baron star, Grace Deegan, from offensive production. "If only we had Tina and Kat": For the Quarterfinal match, the Barons were without veteran Christina Haug and rising sophomore Katheryn Brehm. "If only Marg wasn't hurt": The Barons turned to rely on their younger talent and their grad student Margaret Gorman who is just coming back from a season-ending injury. "If only it wasn't freezing cold and raining": The Bearcats sideline got to huddle up in their long trench coats to get warm before subbing into the game. The Barons were out in the elements for 60 minutes in their short-sleeved uniforms with only one sub. "If only I hadn't slipped and fell". "If only I hadn't turned it over in the backfield". "If only the net on my stick didn't tear". "If only any of those things mattered, we wouldn't be celebrating today". Last night, team culture, leadership, and effort won the game. It took years of culture development from coaching and 15 unwavering competitors ignoring the comfortable excuses to lie on and rise up to claim victory.
    For 40 minutes the game was a tug-of-war back-and-forth. The Bearcats went back to their game plan of face guarding Deegan for 60 minutes. Their #20 Volna was stick up and staring at Deegan paying no attention to the rest of the field. Grace found a way to be much more involved in the offense and found the back of the net early in the 2nd to put the Barons up 5-4. Theresa Lyle and Rose Kane had incredible days that were just the edge the Barons needed to overcome the adversity. Lyle had a game-high 9 draw controls. On more than one occasion she pulled three or more defenders as she raced across midfield opening up cutters and shooting opportunities. Six times Rose Kane was left on an island. She faced multiple free position shots in the waning minutes with the game on the line. The Bearcats had three 2-on-1 fast breaks that forced Kane to make athletic plays to save the goal. All of these moments could have been or would have been game-losing moments, but Kane rose to the occasion. 
    In the 3rd quarter the Bearcats were leading 14-10. This lead was generated on an 8-2 run after the Barons took a two goal lead in the 2nd. The proceeding draw control was one by St. Vincent and the energy in the air deflated. The Barons had dug themselves a hole and now faced another Bearcat offensive possession. The Bearcat midfielder saw an open attacker deep up the right sideline and chose to get aggressive and push the ball up to her hoping to score another goal and put a dagger in the Barons. Riley O'Brien came sweeping from deep in the middle of the field and picked the pass off clean in a dead sprint. She was passed the midfield line before any Bearcat could react. O'Brien found Joanna Hilkert wheeling around from behind the net. Hilkert took the pass then dodged a couple defenders as she streaked across the front of the net. Hilkert beat the goalkeeper and that one-two punch play flipped a switch in the Barons. They went on a 5-0 run starting with that goal to close out the game, and this time walkaway as the victors of a one goal game.

Inside the Numbers 
-Theresa Lyle had 9 draw controls, 3 goals, 5 ground balls, and 1 caused turnover
-Rose Kane made 8 saves
-Carolyn Cooke scored her 4th hat trick of the season and added 3 assists to have a game-high 6 points
-Freshmen Kiera Wilson lead the Barons with 4 goals
-Mary Bohli had a career-high 4 caused turnovers

Up Next  
The Barons will travel to Allegheny on Thursday for a rematch with the Gators that will start at 4 pm. These two teams met just last weekend with the Gators earning a decisive win. The Barons will have to do a better job of handling the Allegheny pressure and increase their clear percentage. It will be a tall task to defeat the Gators on their home, blue turf which they currently hold a 6-0 record on this season.

Stay Connected 
Be sure to follow Franciscan Athletics on Youtube, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook for the most in-depth coverage.