DAVIDSON, N.C. – The St. Bonaventure women's lacrosse team opened Atlantic10 conference play on a high note on Saturday afternoon, claiming an 8-6 come-from-behind victory over Davidson on the road guided by a hat trick from senior captain Brooke Piper.
 
Though they trailed for much of the first half, the Bonnies (5-3, 1-0 A-10) capitalized on a strong day from the draw control circle to fight back into contention. The SBU win marked the end of a nine-game losing streak to Davidson which stretched back to April of 2015.
 
The Wildcats (6-1, 0-1 A-10) struck first in the contest with two first-quarter scores to take an early advantage. In response, senior Megan Schillinger defied the odds with a player-down goal, getting the Bonnies on the board for the first time with about three minutes to play in the opening quarter.
 
The hosts answered Schillinger's score with another pair of goals early in the second quarter, extending the lead to 4-1. From that point on, the Bonnies would rattle off six straight goals to put themselves in the driver's seat.
 
Schillinger kicked off the rally with her second goal of the game, opening the floodgates for a flurry of SBU scores. Piper and sophomore Sidney Van Tassel were next up in the scoring column, each taking advantage of player-up opportunities to even the game at four goals each.
 
Piper added to Bona's tally just before halftime with a score assisted by Van Tassel, sending the visitors to the break with a one-goal advantage, their first lead of the game.
 
Coming out of halftime, the Bonnies were determined to hold onto their lead. Senior Grace Hollenbeck notched the only score of a third quarter which saw the two programs poking and prodding for any chance, sending shots back and forth.
 
Piper completed her hat trick with an unassisted goal on the opening possession of the fourth quarter, energizing the team for the final 15 minutes and bringing the game to a score of 7-4 in favor of the visitors.
 
Though Davidson's Allie Hartnett responded with a goal just one minute later, SBU did not unravel. Freshman Gracie Williams registered her second goal of the season and the team's final goal on an extra-player opportunity midway through the final period.
 
Davidson added one more score to its tally midway through the fourth quarter, but the Bonnies were already well in control, eventually walking off with an 8-6 victory.
 
Sophomore Judy Mahoney got the start and played the full 60 minutes in goal, making five saves in that time.
 
GAME NOTES

• With the win, the Bonnies snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Wildcats stretching back to April 26, 2015. The all-time series now stands at 9-3 in favor of today's hosts. Saturday's win marks the first conference victory for the Bonnies over Davidson - their only two wins in the series came in 2003 and 2005 before Davidson joined the Atlantic 10. 
• Bonaventure outshot Davidson, 26-16, also outpacing the hosts in shots on goal, 14-9.
• The Bonnies were dominant at the draw control circle, winning that battle, 11-4.
• SBU scored all eight of their goals during live action, going 0-5 on free position shots.
• Alongside her two goals, Schillinger recorded two assists and five draw controls.
• Piper has now reached 150 career goals and extended her streak to seven straight appearances with a hat trick. She now ranks seventh in program history in points (178) after passing Nicole Motondo, '06.
• Senior captain Brit Colangelo caused four turnovers in the contest, bringing her career total to 113.

 
QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH LEIGHANN STAUFFER
"To be honest, words don't describe this win. I couldn't be more proud of our team's energy, chemistry and overall culture. This win was absolutely led by our seniors who don't settle for anything less than 100 percent effort. We are keeping the tradition of pushing me into the pool on spring break… I'm going in the lake tonight!"
 
UP NEXT
The Bonnies face one more road matchup against Cornell as they step back out of conference play on Wednesday, March 11 before returning home to battle with VCU on Saturday, March 14.
 
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