RICHMOND, Va. - The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse offense exploded for 10 first-half goals and opened the second half with six unanswered scores en route to a convincing 18-7 Atlantic 10 road win over VCU at Cary Street Field on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Hawks improve to 5-5 overall (1-1 A-10) while the Rams fall to 2-8 overall (0-2 A-10).

Freshman attackers Sam McGee (4g, 1a) and Stephanie Kelly (3g, 1a) combined for seven goals while junior midfielder Rebecca Lane went for two goals and four helpers, the fourth of which broke the SJU program record for career assists as Lane reached 73 for her career.

Graduate student goalkeeper Liz O'Sullivan (5-5, 1-1 A-10) made nine saves vs. four goals allowed in 42:54 of work to earn the first Atlantic 10 conference victory of her collegiate career.

Sophomore midfielder Bridget Cerciello broke open the scoring with an eight-meter goal at the 27:06 mark, but VCU converted an eight-meter just 35 seconds later to even the score, 1-1, at the 26:31 mark.

From there, the Hawks tore off six straight goals to take a commanding 7-1 advantage by the 21:09 mark of the first half; Kelly scored twice during that run while Lane and junior attacker Francesca Donato contributed one goal and one helper apiece.

VCU chipped back with two of the next four goals (20:23, 10:02), with scores from junior midfielder Sinead Brierley (19:04) and Donato (17:48) sandwiched between, to close the deficit to six goals, 9-3, but McGee fired off her first of the day with exactly four minutes to play in the first to send the Hawks into the lockerroom with a seven-goal advantage at the half, 10-3.

The Hawks scored six straight to open the second half, with three of those scores coming from McGee (27:58, 24:56, 21:32), to blow open their lead by 13, 16-3, entering the final 21:32; Lane fed McGee's second goal of that run at the 24:56 mark for her program-record 73rd career assist.

The Rams scored four of the game's next five goals, but sophomore attacker Sara Hughes fired off her first collegiate goal at the 7:57 mark and freshman attacker Alyssa Manley scored her first collegiate goal with 1:52 to play to close the game at 18-7.

For the game, Saint Joseph's held a 29-25 edge in shots, including a 19-12 advantage in a first half in which the Hawks scored on 52.6 percent of their shots. SJU also owned a 22-17 edge in ground balls while the Rams earned a 14-12 advantage from the circle. The Hawks went 3-of-5 in FPS, well above their season average, while four of the Rams' eight goals came on eight meters.

Cerciello, who went for one goal and one assist, was dominant on the defensive end with four ground balls and three caused turnovers while junior midfielder Ally Beck led the squad with four draw controls and five caused turnovers on the day. Senior defender Kristen Kelbon went for four ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Freshman goalkeeper Corinne Buttner relieved O'Sullivan at the 17:06 mark of the second half, making two saves vs. two goals allowed to go with a ground ball and a caused turnover in 12:41. Graduate student goalkeeper Amelia Deibler saw the final 4:19 of action, making two saves vs. one goal allowed in her first appearance of the season.

Saint Joseph's returns home to host Richmond (8-2, 2-0 A-10) this upcoming Friday, March 6. Opening draw control on Sweeney Field is set for 5:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Saint Joseph's improves to 3-0 all-time against VCU, with all meetings happening over the last three seasons, and is averaging 17 goals per game against the Rams all-time... The Hawks matched their season-high scoring output with 18 goals... With six points on two goals and four assists, junior midfielder Rebecca Lane remains fifth on SJU's all-time list for career points, with 158... She is 11 points shy of tying for fourth... With those four assists, Lane passed former program recordholder Shannon Feite '97 for the most assists for a career, with 73, on Hawk Hill... With those two goals, Lane now has 92 for her career, which is good for sole possession of ninth all-time on Hawk Hill... With a caused turnover in the game, senior midfielder Kate Payne now has 46 for her career, just two shy of breaking onto SJU's all-time top ten in the career caused turnovers category... With her two saves in goal, graduate student goalkeeper Amelia Deibler now has 130 saves for her career, just three shy of breaking onto SJU's all-time top ten in the career saves category.

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SJU alumnae, family and friends, the Hawks will host SJU Women's Lacrosse Alumnae and Family Weekend on Friday, April 13 in conjunction with the Hawks' home game vs. St. Bonaventure at 5:00 p.m. and Sunday, April 15 in conjunction with the Hawks' home game vs. Duquesne at 1:00 p.m. Registration can be made online by visiting alumni.sju.edu/wlax. For more information, contact Christina Henderson at 610-660-3280 or chenders@sju.edu.

Be sure to follow the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program on Twitter and Instagram and like the Hawks on Facebook. Fans can receive all of the latest news and info on the women's lacrosse program with Hawk E-News.

Also be sure to check out Sideline Photos, LLC's shots from home games vs. CCSU and Navy and road game vs. Villanova at PhotoShelter.com.