GROVE CITY, Pa. (March 25) – The Saint Vincent women's lacrosse team fell just short in a back-and-forth offensive slugfest at Grove City, falling 16-15 to the Wolverines in each team's 2022 Presidents' Athletic Conference opener.

Trailing 13-12 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bearcats (4-3, 0-1 PAC) rallied to take a 14-13 lead on a goal by Rachel Thatcher with just over 11 minutes left in regulation. The Wolverines (7-1, 1-0 PAC) answered back with two unanswered goals to take a one-goal lead with 4:15 to go, only to see SVC's Rachel Thatcher score to tie it at 15 just 25 seconds later. The Wolverines countered with the go-ahead goal with 3:05 left, and would keep the Bearcats at bay over the closing minutes to seal the win.

Joey Smith again led the Bearcat offense, totaling nine points, on three goals and six assists. Kaylee Bandow scored four goals and Thatcher three, while Bridget Doyle and Maggie Edwards each finished with two goals and two assists. Hannah-Marie Starner was a sixth Bearcat to find the scoring column with a goal, while she also topped SVC with nine draw controls.

Thatcher topped the Bearcats with eight ground balls, with Doyle and Edwards chipping in three apiece, while Edwards led the SVC defensive effort with three caused turnovers. Kyra Lipetzky played all 60 minutes in goal, finishing with 12 saves.

Grove City got off to a fast start, opening up a 3-0 lead eight minutes into the first quarter. Thatcher netted SVC's first goal, with 4:02 left in the quarter, before Bandow and Smith each scored before the close of the first frame to pull the Bearcats to within 5-3.

SVC kept the momentum to open the second period, netting three goals in a 45-second span , with two from Bandow and one from Smith, to take a 6-5 lead with 12:05 left in the half. Less than two minutes after Bandow's man-down goal, Edwards found the back of the net to make it 7-5 with 10:18 remaining. Grove City then took over, scoring four unanswered goals over the final 7:45 of the second to take a 9-7 lead into the intermission.

The Wolverines added onto their lead with a goal in the opening minute of the third quarter, but Doyle, Bandow and Edwards each scored over a three-minute span to again cut the deficit to one, 11-10, with 9:10 left in the frame. The teams would then trade goals over the next several minutes, with Starner and Doyle each scoring over the final four minutes of the quarter to pull SVC to within one, 13-12, at the close of the third frame. Three minutes into the fourth, Smith scored to tie the game at 13, setting up the frantic finish.

Madison Nazigian scored seven goals and Brooke Stoltzfus six to lead the Grove City offense, while Wolverine goalie Elyse Kiggins made 10 saves to earn the win in goal.