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LATROBE, Pa. (April 11) - A late goal lifted the Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team to a dramatic 16-15 victory over rival Thiel in a battle of the top two teams in the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference.

The win improves the Bearcats to 10-6 overall and moves them to a perfect 7-0 in the ORLC.  Meanwhile, Thiel drops to 8-6 overall and 6-1 in league play.

In a back and forth contest that saw the score tied 11 times, it was the Bearcats who scored the match-winning goal when Hannah Carroll scored off an assist from Maggie Nelson with just 26 seconds remaining. SVC trailed by as many as three goals at the outset of the second half, before battling back. Neither team led by more than a goal during the course of the final 21:09 of the match.

After trading scores early in the contest, it was SVC who gained the first multiple goal advantage of the match, holding a 5-3 lead with 12:47 left in the opening half. Freshman Katie Stallings and Nelson both found the back of the net to help give the Bearcats that advantage. However, Thiel responded with the next five goals to take an 8-5 lead. Senior Amie Dobracki countered with a free position shot goal to cut the SVC deficit to 8-6 at halftime.

A pair of Sarah Wallerstedt goals to open the second half helped SVC draw even at 8-8 with 25:27 to play. The two teams would trade the next four scores, making it 10-10 at the 19:45 mark. With things tied 13-13, senior Molly Snyder put the Bearcats back in front with a goal with just 5:42 to play.

It looked as if Thiel might pull the game out, as they scored the next two goals, taking a 15-14 edge with just 2:40 play. However, the Bearcats showed their resiliency, as Snyder scored off a pass from Wallerstedt to even the score at 15-15 with just 1:52 to play.

That set things up for the dramatic finish. Thiel made a save with just over 30 seconds left and looked to move the ball up field for a chance at a game-winner. However, Dobracki stole an errant pass out of the air just short of midfield. Dobracki then advanced the ball closer to the net, passed off to Nelson who set up Carroll for the match-winning score.

Things were just as even on the stat sheet as they were on the final scoreboard. SVC narrowly outshot Thiel 34-32, while holding a 9-8 edge in successful clears and Thiel committed 23 turnovers while Saint Vincent turned it over 21 times.

Snyder and Wallerstedt each tallied eight points in the victory for the Bearcats. Meanwhile, Emily Harrigan of Thiel led all scorers with seven goals, while her teammate Cassy Mahdi chipped in four goals and three assists.

Saint Vincent returns to action when they host W&J on Wednesday, April 15 for another ORLC matchup. Start time is slated for 4 p.m.