PHILADELPHIA – The Saint Joseph's women's lacrosse team used goals early and often to build a sizable lead, fending off a late surge from #18 Princeton on Wednesday afternoon to secure a 19-17 win on Sweeney Field.
 
St. Joe's tallied its fourth win in program history against a ranked side, moving to three-straight wins and a 7-6 record on the season. The Tigers fall to 4-5 on the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The visitors opened the game with a quick three-goal burst, taking a 3-0 run over the first three minutes to give the Hawks some work to do.
• The Crimson and Gray responded, goals from the midfield pair of Emma O'Neill and Bonnie Yu within a minute cutting the deficit to one.
• After another Tiger goal, the Hawks once again added a pair of goals as freshman Alexa Capozzoli and sophomore Maddie Yoder leveled the tally headed into the media timeout.
• On the other end of the timeout, the Hawks again found the netting as another rookie stepped up as Kate Fuhrman found the netting to give the Hawks their first lead.
• O'Neill, coming fresh off of an Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Week performance, added her second of the quarter to give SJU a 6-4 lead after the first quarter.
• The Hawks extended their scoring run to 6-0 on the other end of the period, starting the second with back-to-back goals from Yu and Capozzoli over the course of the first five minutes.
• After Princeton finally grabbed a goal to cut the run, the Hawks responded right back with Fuhrman's first goal of the afternoon. The Tigers answered to draw the lead back to 9-6 in favor of the Hawks.
• Closing the first half with a flurry, the Hawks tallied three-unanswered goals to take a 12-6 lead into the break. Riley Evans got on the board, rewarding the midfielder with an excellent first half in the draw game. Fuhrman's second goal of the game finished off a beautifully executed counter attack from coast-to-coast after the rookie found herself in an open pocket for an easy finish. Maggie Davidson closed out the scoring with a goal in the final 30 seconds to double up the Hawk advantage.
• Just 90 seconds into the second half, the Hawks tallied two more goals to give an eight-goal lead against the Tigers. Yu recorded a hat trick before Yoder struck pay dirt from a free-position opportunity.
• As Princeton looked to use a 3-0 run to build momentum, O'Neill's hat trick stifled the run to return the Hawks to a six-goal advantage. Fuhrman followed her teammate's footsteps, finding the back of the net for the third time of her own to give SJU a 16-10 lead with 15 minutes remaining.
• Capozzoli scored within the first two minutes of the period, becoming the fourth Hawk of the afternoon to record a hat trick as SJU went up 17-10.
• After a career-high fourth goal from Capozzoli to put the Hawks up 18-11 with nine minutes remaining, the game looked all but over. But the Tigers stormed back, scoring five goals over a span of 2:53 to cut the deficit to 18-16 with two minutes remaining.
• With the Hawks under pressure, a huge save from Jorden Concordia allowed the Hawk defense to breathe, running out the clock before Sydney Foster would make a cut and be found from Fuhrman before slinging an attempt past the Princeton goalkeeper, securing the Hawk victory.
• Princeton added a late consolation goal with eight seconds remaining as the Hawks stormed the field at full time, defeating the #18 Tigers in a 19-17 showdown.

 
GAME NOTES

• With the win, the Hawks recorded their fourth win in program history over a ranked team, all coming in the last three years under head coach Alex Kahoe.
• Freshmen Alexa Capozzoli and Kate Fuhrman both spearheaded the attack with four goals apiece and two assists, combining for 12 points on the afternoon. Each recorded career-highs in goals and assists.
• Emma O'Neill and Bonnie Yu also provided fireworks from midfield, joining the freshman with three goals apiece for four different Hawks collecting a hat trick. O'Neill added two assists to her day, now having scored 11 goals in her last three games.
• Yu has now tallied 12 games in a row with a goal.
• Maddie Yoder secured two goals of her own, already surpassing last season's output.
• Sydney Foster secured her first goal of the season.
• Jorden Concordia recorded her fourth game with double-digit saves of the season, her 18 saves falling one shy of her career-best set earlier this season against Towson.
• Princeton outshot St. Joe's 46-33 on the afternoon, a 35-26 Hawk deficit in shots on goal.
• The matchup was the first time that the Hawks met the Tigers in program history. 

UP NEXT

• The Hawks host St. Bonaventure on Saturday, April 8 in the annual Morgan's Message game, promoting mental health awareness among student-athletes. Draw is set for 1 p.m.