LATROBE, Pa. (March 20) - Strong offensive performances by Maggie Nelson and Naomi Schwaiger helped the Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team roll to a 23-11 victory over Muskingum University in non-conference play. 

Nelson and Schwaiger combined to score the first four goals of the game to give SVC an early 4-0 advantage less than five minutes into the match. After Muskingum answered with a goal, Nelson tallied another score to make it 5-1. Rachel Belles and Courtney Kloos followed with back-to-back goals to extend the lead to 7-1 with 22:21 left in the first half. 

Muskingum responded with three straight goals over the next seven-plus minutes to cut the Bearcat lead to 7-4 at the 15:50 mark. Schwaiger would keep the hot hand on offense, tallying the next three Saint Vincent goals to extend the lead to 10-5 with 5:15 to play in the half. Nelson would tally back-to-back unassisted scores to push the SVC advantage to 12-5. Muskingum would respond with a late goal to make the halftime score 12-6. 

The visiting Muskies would tally the initial goal of the second half to cut the deficit to 12-7. However, Saint Vincent would rattle off the next 11 goals while holding Muskingum scoreless for 19 minutes. Schwaiger and Nelson combined to tally the first five goals during the run, extending the lead to 17-7 to enforce the running clock. Kloos would then tack on three of next six SVC goals to make it 23-7. Julianne Rosa and Calsey Holshue also netted a goal each down the stretch. 

Nelson paced the offense with her second straight 10-goal performance. The Jefferson, Md. native added four assists, five draw controls and two ground balls in the victory. Schwaiger put together one of her best performances of her collegiate career, tallying eight points (six goals, two assists) and four ground balls. 

Kloos recorded a career-high four goals to strengthen the offensive attack. Belles was strong in the midfield, tallying a team-best eight draw controls and picking up four ground balls. Alex Piampiano filled the stat sheet with six draw controls, five ground balls and three caused turnovers in the win. Maria Franey earned the victory in net, stopping 11 shots over 60 minutes of action. 

Muskingum was paced by Ashley Adams, who recorded three goals, nine draw controls and four ground balls. 

Saint Vincent held several significant statistical advantages: draw controls (21-14), ground balls (21-14) and shots (42-31). 

The Bearcats open Ohio River Lacrosse Conference play this weekend when they host Mount St. Joseph on Saturday, March 24. Start time is set for 1 p.m.