PHILADELPHIA – Leading by three with 8:48 to play in regulation, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team ran away with five of the final six goals of the game to earn a 16-9 victory over George Mason in Atlantic 10 action on Sweeney Field on Sunday afternoon. With their fifth straight win, the Hawks improve to 10-6 overall (6-2 A-10) while the Patriots fall to 10-6 overall (4-4 A-10).

"It was a great day of St. Joe's lacrosse," said head coach Alex Kahoe following the win. "From the first whistle, our team really came out strong and played fast . . . I'm really proud of this senior class. This is a special group of seniors. They've been great leaders and were freshmen our first year as a staff. They have really worked hard and helped take this program to new levels. Today was a very special day to be able to honor them."

Junior midfielder Rebecca Lane and freshman attacker Sam McGee powered SJU's offense with hat tricks while freshman attacker Stephanie Kelly (2g, 2a), sophomore midfielder Bridget Cerciello (2g, 2a), and junior attacker Francesca Donato (2g, 2a) contributed four points apiece.

Graduate student goalkeeper Liz O'Sullivan (10-6, 6-2 A-10) made nine saves, including six in the first half, vs. nine goals allowed in the first 56:38.

The Hawks jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead as Cerciello opened the game's scoring with an eight-meter goal (24:26) before Kelly scored (23:29) on a feed from junior midfielder Ally Beck; Kelly then hit junior midfielder Sinead Brierley 34 seconds later (22:55) for the three-goal edge.

George Mason used a three-goal run in a 42-second span (17:06, 16:34, 16:24) to equalizer mid-way through the first half.

The Hawks closed out the half with four unanswered goals from Donato (14:29), McGee (13:15), Kelly (8:05), and Lane (4:26) to take a 7-3 advantage into the halftime break.

Saint Joseph's scored three of the first five goals of the second half to take extend its advantage to five goals, 10-5, at the 21:03 mark.

However, George Mason responded with three of the next four goals to cut its deficit to three, 11-8, entering the final 10:21.

From there, the Hawks fired off five of the final six goals of the game as senior midfielder Aly Gormley (8:48), sophomore midfielder Laura Lasprogata (8:16), Donato (7:46), sophomore midfielder Penny Green (3:22), and McGee (2:00) combined to put the game away for the Crimson and Gray.

Despite suffering a 19-7 disadvantage from the circle, the Hawks were able to battle for possession by forcing 15 of the Patriots' 20 total turnovers on the afternoon.

"Defensively, we really came together as a unit, had a bunch of caused turnovers, showed resiliency, and really stepped it up the whole game," added Kahoe.

SJU held a 30-26 edge in shots, propelled by an 18-12, second-half edge in which the Hawks shot 50%, and took home the ground ball game, 20-10.

Senior defender Juliana Strazulo had a big day with five ground balls and two caused turnovers while senior defender Kristen Kelbon added three ground balls and two caused turnovers and senior midfielder Kate Payne went for three ground balls. Sophomore midfielder Julia Pash and senior defender Catie Vivian forced three turnovers apiece.

Saint Joseph's heads to La Salle (7-9, 3-5 A-10) this Saturday, April 28 for the 2018 regular-season finale. Opening draw control at McCarthy Stadium is set for 11:30 a.m.

"I don't think we've played our best lacrosse yet," added Kahoe. "I think there's definitely more to come. It's all about peaking at the right time. We're just taking it one day at a time and playing the best St. Joe's lacrosse we can play."

All photos from today's big win (including Senior Day ceremony) will be made available for sale at Photoshelter.com.

GAME NOTES: Following the game, the Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse program honored senior attacker Morgan Lamey, senior midfielder Dana Garbinski, senior midfielder Aly Gormley (1g, 1gb), senior defender Kristen Kelbon (3gb, 2ct), senior midfielder Kate Payne (3gb, 1ct), senior defender Juliana Strazulo (5gb, 2ct), senior defender Catie Vivian (3ct), and graduate student goalkeepers Amelia Deibler (1 save), and Liz O'Sullivan (W, 9 saves) for their dedication to the program over their careers on Hawk Hill... The Hawks improve to 4-9 all-time against the Patriots and even out at 2-2 under the direction of fourth-year head coach Alex Kahoe.