St. Mary's City, Md. – Stingy defense in the second half leads the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team to their 17th straight win over Frostburg State University on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the 2015 Capital Athletic Conference Championship Tournament. The third-seeded Seahawks posted a 17-5 win over sixth-seeded Frostburg State to advance to the tournament semifinals.

St. Mary's (13-4) will face second-seeded York College of Pennsylvania, who is ranked 15th in this week's Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association Division III Poll, in the semifinals this Saturday, April 25th at 2:00 p.m. The Seahawks hope to avenge their 15-9 regular-season loss at York on Tax Day as well as snap a five-game skid against the Spartans.

The Seahawks shut out Frostburg State (9-8), 11-0, in the second half, holding the Bobcats to only five shots and forcing six of the team's 12 second-half turnovers. Junior midfielder Claire McGagh (Baltimore, Md./Friends School) picked up three of those six caused turnovers as St. Mary's finished with 10 caused turnovers for the game.

Junior midfielder Shelby Newman (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) paced the Seahawk offense with game-highs of four goals and five points while fellow classmate Brynn Miller (Frederick, Md./Urbana) notched her first career hat trick and added an assist. Senior captain Christy Bishop (Glenwood, Md./Glenelg) also chipped in a hat trick.

Frostburg (9-8) struck first at 27:17 before the Seahawks rattled off five straight for a four-goal lead at 14:38. Senior midfielder Malory Brunett (Clarksville, Md./River Hill) scored back-to-back goals to trim the score to 5-3 at 4:50.

With exactly one minute left in the half, junior captain Tori Poffenberger (Sharpsburg, Md./Boonsboro) tallied her first of the day for a 6-3 lead before sophomores Megan and Molly Hart (Hanover, Md./Howard) each found the back of the net in a 24-second span to send the Bobcats down only one at halftime. Six players scored for St. Mary's in the first half while Brunett paced Frostburg State with two goals.

It was all St. Mary's in the second stanza as the Seahawks fired off 20 more shots than the Bobcats and registered a 17-2 margin in ground balls. Newman sparked the 11-0 run with her first of the afternoon at 28:25 while junior attacker Taylor Sartor (Towson, Md./Loch Raven) capped the run as time expired. Newman netted four while Miller and Bishop each had a pair during the final 30 minutes.

Brunett was Frostburg's leading scorer with two goals while Megan Hart finished with a goal and assist. St. Mary's outshot the Bobcats, 40-18, and outhustled FSU, 21-11, in ground balls while Frostburg State edged the home, 12-11, in draw controls.

First-year Lexi Thorne (Riva, Md./Pallotti) needed just six saves in 51:33 for her sixth win of the season while junior captain Kayla Dunn preserved the second-half shutout in her eight minutes of play. Sophomore Dylan Teitelbaum (Bright Waters, N.Y./Bayshore) came up with 15 stops for FSU, including nine in the second half.

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