St. Mary's City, Md. – The No. 20 St. Mary's College of Maryland women's lacrosse team put their national ranking to its first test Tuesday afternoon against The Catholic University of America. Catholic gave the Seahawks a run for their money with a second-half rally but St. Mary's was able to hold on for the 11-10 non-conference win.

The Seahawks (8-1) seemed to be cruising to their eighth win of the season, staking a 10-3 lead at 20:27 after senior Brynn Miller's (Frederick, Md./Urbana) first goal of 2016. However, Catholic had other ideas and rattled off four straight to close the gap to three with 11:06 left in the game. Junior midfielder Alexis Bosilovic (Gibsonia, Pa./Sewickley Academy) led the way with three goals in the run.

Junior attacker Meg Gesner's (Severna Park, Md./Severn) fifth score of the afternoon at 7:18 slowed down the Cardinals a tad until junior Laura Dunn (Fairfax, Va./W.T. Woodson) took over. Dunn had a hand in Catholic's next three goals to pull her team within one with 4:29 remaining.

After winning the ensuing the draw, the Cardinals turned the ball over twice before first-year goalkeeper Christina De Cesaris (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) intercepted a St. Mary's pass with 21 ticks on the clock. CUA was able to get off one last shot attempt as time expired but sophomore attacker Nicolette Crisalli (Silver Spring, Md./St. John's College) was denied by senior captain Kayla Dunn (Rockville, Md./Good Counsel).

Gesner tallied a career-best five goals in leading the Seahawks to the win while senior captain Shelby Newman (Hampstead, Md./Manchester Valley) added three goals and three assists. Dunn recorded 11 stops and three ground balls in the win while De Cesaris turned away nine shots, had two ground balls, and caused one turnover in Catholic's second straight loss.

Catholic (2-5) edged the Seahawks in shots, 30-27, and draw controls, 14-10, as junior midfielder Clair Schmitzer (Sparta, N.J./Sparta) grabbed a game-high five. St. Mary's took the lead in ground balls, 22-21, as senior captain Kate Somerville (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) scooped up five.

Newman put the Seahawks on the scoreboard first before junior midfielder Anna Stumme (Millersville, Md./Seton Keough) picked up a goal and an assist in a 2-0 run for a one-goal CUA lead at 22:02. The Seahawks responded with back-to-back scores to reclaim the lead before first-year Megan Ellis (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) evened up the score at 18:36.

Gesner and Newman then joined forces to spark a 4-0 run to close out the half. Gesner had three goals in the run while Newman chipped in a goal and two assists, sending St. Mary's into halftime with a 7-3 lead.

Bosilovic finished the day with three goals for the Cardinals while Dunn and Stumme each contributed two goals and an assist.

The Seahawks will continue their home-stand on Friday, March 25 when they host Southern Virginia University at 4:00 p.m. in Capital Athletic Conference action at Seahawk Stadium.

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