GREENVILLE, Pa. (April 23)- Kaylee Bandow's shorthanded goal with 6:10 left in regulation broke a late tie and propelled Saint Vincent to a 16-14 win at Thiel to take sole possession of third place in the Presidents' Athletic Conference standings with just two matches left in the season.
 
Bandow scored a career-high seven goals, Bridget Doyle recorded a game-high nine points (5G, 4A) and Joey Smith entered the program record book after her five-point output (1G, 4A), lifting SVC to 9-6 overall and 4-2 in the PAC while dropping the Tomcats to 5-5 overall and 3-3 in league play.
 
With her 5-point day, Smith now has 104 points on the season, the fourth most in program history and only the fifth 100-plus point season for a player in team history.
 
Rachel Thatcher added two goals, while Hanna-Marie Starner turned in a three-point day with one goal and two assists, while also leading SVC with seven draw controls.
 
Bandow, Alexandria Votovich and Kyra Lipetzky shared the team lead with three ground balls apiece, with Lipetzky making 17 saves in goal to earn the win.
 
Thiel started the scoring off quick, netting their first goal just 41 seconds into the game to take an early 1-0 lead. The Bearcats responded back quickly, as Doyle found the back of the net just 23 seconds later to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Just over a minute later, Starner scored for the Bearcats on an assist from Doyle, giving the Bearcats their first lead of the day at 2-1. Smith then found the back of the net for Saint Vincent, notching her 100th point on an assist from Starner to increase the Bearcat lead to 3-1.
 
Saint Vincent continued on the attack. Bandow found the back of the net next on assist from Smith giving the Bearcats a 4-1 lead.
 
The remaining minutes of the first quarter were played evenly, as Thiel scored two goals, and Saint Vincent's Thatcher and Bandow each notched goals as well, as the Bearcats carried a 6-3 lead into the second quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Thiel scored first on a goal from Destiny Johnson, cutting the Saint Vincent lead to 6-4, but the Bearcats answered right back to score the next two goals. Bandow found the back of the net on assist from Doyle, increasing the lead back to three at 7-4. Then, Thatcher scored on an assist from Smith, making it 8-4.
 
Thiel wouldn't go away, as the Tomcats outscored Saint Vincent 3-1 in the remaining 7:30 of the first half. Doyle scored for the Bearcats in the remaining minutes of the half, giving the Bearcats a 9-7 lead heading into halftime.
 
In the third quarter Johnson scored again for the Tomcats cutting the Bearcats lead to just one at 9-8. But as they had all day, the Bearcats responded with two goals of their own. Doyle scored on the man-up on an assist from Smith and Bandow scored on an assist from Boyle, giving the Bearcats an 11-8 lead.
 
Thiel's Maddy Wightman scored late in the third quarter, to cut into the Bearcats lead, as Saint Vincent led 11-9 heading into the fourth.
 
Just like the third quarter, the fourth quarter was played evenly as well. Both teams notched five goals in the quarter.
 
After a Thiel goal to start the quarter, the Bearcats scored two of their own, one from Doyle and one from Bandow with a man-down, as the Bearcats lead remained steady at 13-10.
 
The Tomcats would not go down without a fight, as they scored the next three goals to tie the game up at 13-13 with 8:48 left in regulation.
 
With 6:10 left, Bandow scored a man-down goal, assisted by Maggie Edwards, to give the lead back to SVC, and the Bearcats wouldn't relinquish it. Just over a minute after Bandow's go-ahead strike, Doyle found the net to make it 15-13, before Bandow's seventh goal of the afternoon gave SVC a 16-13 margin. The Tomcats scored seconds later to make it a two-goal game, but they would get no closer.
 
The Bearcats will return to action on Wednesday, April 27, when they play host to Washington and Jefferson College for a PAC matchup. Opening draw is scheduled for 4 p.m. at UPMC Field.