FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Mary Washington scored the first nine goals of the second half to produce a 16-8 victory over Washington and Lee in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Lacrosse Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the Battleground Athletic Complex.

The Generals jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the opening 2:49 of the game as senior midfielder Christina Benedetti (Derwood, Md./Academy of the Holy Cross) tallied a pair of unassisted goals. 

Mary Washington (14-4) senior midfielder Catherine Kennedy cut it to a 4-2 game with an unassisted goal at 26:09, but W&L sophomore midfielder Meade Brewster (Brookside, N.J./West Morris Mendham) scored on a free position attempt to give W&L a 5-2 lead just 4:30 into the contest.

The Eagles received back-to-back goals from sophomore midfielder Jenna Petrucelli and junior midfielder Keller Torrey to pull within 5-4 at the 18:14 mark, but sophomore attacker Margaret Klein (North Andover, Mass./Brooks) scored off a feed from senior attacker Alli Shearin (Essex Fells, N.J./West Essex) to stretch the lead back to two goals (6-4) with 12:11 to play in the first half.

Mary Washington capped the first half scoring as senior attacker Lauren Callison found the net from sophomore midfielder Megan Gersbeck at 10:31 en route to a 6-5 W&L lead at the break.

The Eagles began their second half run just 1:18 into the second half, tying the game at 6-6 on a goal by Kennedy.  Kennedy scored again just 2:54 later to give the Eagles a 7-6 lead, their first advantage of the game.  She went on to score two more goals, along with two for both Gersbeck and Callison, as the Eagles pushed out to a 14-6 lead with 5:28 left in the game.

Benedetti stopped the UMW run with her third goal of the game, beating Mary Washington junior goalkeeper Kathryn Stiltz unassisted with 5:12 remaining, but it was too little too late as the Eagles cruised to the eight-goal victory.

Washington and Lee was paced by Benedetti's three scores.  Klein and Brewster both totaled two goals, while Shearin notched a pair of assists.  First-year Cara Mulligan (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) played all 60 minutes in goal and recorded six saves.

Kennedy finished her day with five goals and three assists to lead Mary Washington.  Callison registered three goals, while senior attacker Allie Kimmelman posted two goals and three assists.  Torrey and Gerback both added two goals and one assist, and Stiltz stopped nine shots in goal.

Mary Washington advances to the second round where it will face Cortland State, while Washington and Lee's season ends with a 15-5 overall record.

-- http://www.generalssports.com --