Richmond, Va. –
Kassi Hogan's goal with 1:11 left proved to be deciding factor as the St. Bonaventure University women's lacrosse team held off a VCU comeback attempt to earn a win in their Atlantic 10 conference opener Saturday afternoon, 15-13.
The win marked the first time the Bonnies have been victorious in a conference matchup since the 2017 season. It also marks the first time St. Bonaventure had beaten VCU in the series history.
VCU got on the board quickly in the first period by scoring 30 seconds into the match. But that was extent of the VCU offense as St. Bonaventure took control of the first half from there.
Redshirt freshman
Jessica Notaro took a pass from
Fiona McGovern and put the Bonnies on the scoreboard. McGovern and Notaro each found the back of the net on unassisted shots in the first to take a 3-1 lead after the first.
The Rams scored twice in the second period to tie the game, but St. Bonaventure would find an offensive groove, connect on four unanswered goals, two from freshman
Brooke Piper, and two from the sophomore McGovern as the Bonnies took an 8-4 advantage into the break.
VCU (4-3) would attempt to make a comeback in the second half, using five third period goals to cut into the Bonnies lead.
But St. Bonaventure (2-5) would have the final strike, as junior
Kassi Hogan took a pass from
Abby Hiltz and put it past the Rams goalkeeper with 1:11 remaining in the contest.
McGovern would tally her sixth goal of the match for insurance as the Bonnies celebrated their first conference win in six years.
Fiona McGovern (six goals),
Jessica Notaro (three goals),
Abby Hiltz (three goals) and
Brooke Piper (two goals) led the way for St. Bonaventure, while
Kassi Hogan made the most of her one goal, connecting on the game winner.
Nora Anderson,
Grace Hollenbeck,
Riley Schott, Hiltz, and McGovern all had assists in the Victory.
Senior goalkeeper
Ashley Herrick made nine saves in the Cage for the Bonnies, including two on game tying attempts from the Rams.
VCU was led by Savannah Slack (three goals), Kelsey McDonnell (four points), and Juliana George (three points).
Meghna Dewar made four saves for net for the Rams.
The Bonnies will remain on the road when they take on Eastern Michigan University in a non-conference matchup on Tuesday, March 14. Start time is set for 2:00 p.m.
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