Fredericksburg, Va. – Strong defensive play won the game for the St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team Wednesday afternoon as the Seahawks posted a 6-5 Capital Athletic Conference victory over University of Mary Washington.

Sophomore attacker Abbey Harrison (Easton, Md./Easton) netted the eventual game-winner off a feed from junior midfielder Shelby Newman (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) with 13 minutes left to play, giving St. Mary's (11-2, 5-0 CAC) a 6-4 lead.

Mary Washington (6-7, 2-4 CAC) trimmed the lead to one at 11:41 as junior attacker Ashlyn Dacey (Round Hill, Va./Woodgrove) picked up her second of the day.

The defensive battle took over from there as both defensive units forced a combined four turnovers (two each) and each side scooped up four loose balls. Offensively, the two sides totaled seven miscues as Mary Washington had four. St. Mary's defense limited the Eagles to three shots in the final 11:41 with one going wide, one hitting the post, and one being stopped by first-year Lexi Thorne (Riva, Md./Pallotti).

Sophomore midfielder Erika Kopf (Annapolis, Md./Annapolis) led the Seahawks quiet offense with two goals while junior captain Tori Poffenberger (Sharpsburg, Md./Boonsboro) tallied a game-best three points on a goal and two assists.

The Seahawks opened up with a 2-0 lead at 23:20 as Newman and Kopf each found the back of the net before senior attacker Corinne Wiederkehr (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) cut the lead in half with an unassisted tally at 13:58. Poffenberger assisted on sophomore midfielder Ali Moulis' (Centreville, Md./Queen Anne's County) goal to rebuild a two-goal advantage at 1:49.

Sophomore attacker Kelsey Vincent (Salisbury, Md./Bennett) scored with 20 seconds left in the half to make it a one-goal game at halftime. Poffenberger was the only player with multiple points at intermission as she had a pair of helpers.

The Eagles started the second stanza on a 2-1 run to even up the score, 4-4, at 23:32. Poffenberger and Harrison then scored in a 50-second span to claim a 6-4 lead at 13:00.

Mary Washington outshot the Seahawks, 22-15, and gained an 8-5 margin in draw controls. St. Mary's earned an 18-17 edge in ground balls as first-year midfielder Megan Cannon (Reisterstown, Md./Notre Dame Prep) and junior defender Kate Somerville (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) each had four.

Thorne finished with nine saves, including six in the first half, and three ground balls in St. Mary's fifth consecutive win. Senior Taylor Paige (Esmont, Va./Monticello) tallied eight stops in the Eagles' fifth straight loss.

St. Mary's will put its undefeated conference record to the test when the Seahawks travel to the Eastern Shore to take on No. 6 Salisbury University, the other undefeated CAC team, under the lights on Friday, April 10th at 7:00 p.m.

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