(FINDLAY, Ohio, Mar. 10) – The McKendree University women's lacrosse team earned their first win of the season after a dominant second half performance that saw nine Bearcat goals, sealing a 12-11 McKendree victory over the University of Findlay.
 
The Oilers maintained a lead through the first half of play, allowing only three Bearcat goals which came courtesy of Rylee Skachenko (Oceanside, CA/Carlsbad), Kayla Smith (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township), and Hannah Sugarman (Holden, MA/Wachusett Regional). Entering the second half down four goals, McKendree found their offensive footing early and delivered two goals within a minute of each other from the sticks of freshman Kathryn Albrecht (Louisville, KY/Eastern High School) (assisted by Sarah Hardin (Pacific, MO/Eureka)) and sophomore Jess Morey (Loveland, OH/Loveland). Findlay would trade goals with the Bearcats for the next five possessions, but McKendree would go on a five-goal tear that the Oilers could not recover from.
 
The Bearcat offensive barrage saw both Sarah Hardin (Pacific, MO/Eureka) and Kayla Smith (O'Fallon, IL/O'Fallon Township) tally hat tricks, while senior Emily Nelson (Deephaven, MN/Holy Family Catholic) put away two of her own.
 
Defensively, the Bearcats caused a total of eight turnovers while junior goalkeeper Collin Patton (Wildwood, MO/Eureka) recorded 11 saves, a season high and her first game with double-digit saves during McKendree's 2019 campaign.
 
Women's lacrosse will be back in action next Friday, March 15 when they return to Lebanon to host Ashland University at 4 p.m. in the Bearcat's first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) competition in 2019.