BOX SCORE

GREENVILLE, Pa. (Feb. 29) - Junior Hannah Hackman recorded a hat trick and four points as the Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team opened up the 2012 season with a 10-9 win at Thiel.

With the win, the Bearcats open the season with a victory for the first time since 2008 when they downed Lancaster Bible (Pa.), 20-2, to start the year. Thiel, playing only the second game in program history, drops to 0-2 having lost both games by a combined three goals.

The first half featured a total of 15 goals by the two teams as SVC took a 9-6 lead into halftime. Hackman's first two goals tied the game, 2-2, just 6:34 into the game.

After two Thiel goals, sophomore Kaley Burkardt cut the deficit to one, 4-3, with her first goal of the season with 19:04 to play in the first half.

Another score by the Tomcats was followed by four-straight SVC goals in 5:30 of game time. Junior Megan Fisher started the scoring with her first goal of the season before Burkardt and Hackman added their second and third goals of the game, respectively, 1:12 apart. A tally by junior Nora Posival at 9:31 gave SVC a 7-5 lead.

Thiel scored another goal to cut the Bearcat led to 7-6, but Posival answered back with her second goal of the game 31 seconds later, at the 8:11 mark. Freshman Natalie Ambrozic added a goal with less than a minute to play in the first half to send SVC into the half with a 9-6 advantage.

The Tomcats scored two goals over the first 15 minutes of the second half to make it a one-goal game before sophomore Maggie Garvey added an insurance goal to put SVC ahead, 10-8, with 15:07 to play. Thiel cut the margin to 10-9 with just under 10 minutes remaining, but SVC held on for the win.

For the game, Thiel held a 26-20 edge in shots and a 21-17 advantage in ground balls. Posival led the Bearcats with four shots (all on goal) while Burkardt and Hackman each registered three shots on goal.

Hackman led the way with four points while Burkardt (three), Garvey (two) and Posival (two) added multiple points in the victory.

Senior goalkeeper Jenn Forsyth played the full 60 minutes in goal, making 10 saves in picking up her first win of the season.

The Bearcats return to action Sunday, March 5, when they travel to Methodist (N.C.) as part of their Spring Break trip. Game time is 1:30 p.m.