ST. PAUL, Minn. – With four goals by Ella Steinke, the College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team (4-1, 2-0 MWLC) won its fourth straight game with a 14-7 decision over Hamline (1-8, 0-4 MWLC) on Monday (April 10) in Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference play.
 
Saint Benedict is now 2-0 in MWLC play with victories in each of the program's first two games in school history.
 
CSB, which will host Lake Forest College in its first-ever home game on Wednesday (April 12) at 4 p.m., had a pair of players with hat tricks or better, including Steinke with her second in three games. Sami Hackley recorded her second straight hat trick and with four assists had seven points on the night to lead CSB. The Bennies also had two goals each from Emma Schrepfer and Grace Fitzgibbons. In goal, Chloe Lewis moved to 4-1 by recording 13 saves, which is her second-best total of the season. She now has 51 saves on the season.

"It was exciting to see the team jump out to a quick lead with some great ball movement and solid execution of plays. The players worked hard on the defensive end as well with Chloe Lewis having a stellar game in net," said first-year head coach Patrick Crandall. "It was fun for the players to look back and see the stands filled with family and friends and we are looking forward to filling the stands at our first home game on Wednesday against a very tough Lake Forest team," he said.

In the game, CSB jumped out to a 9-2 lead after the first quarter and utilized strong defense to maintain that seven-goal edge. The Bennies also had a 3-1 edge in the second quarter for a 12-3 advantage at halftime. Hamline used a 3-1 margin in the third quarter to cut the lead to 13-6 but both teams only tallied a goal in the fourth quarter as the Bennies recorded a win in its first ever match up with Hamline. Over the past three games, CSB has allowed a total of one goal in the fourth quarter.
 
In the game, CSB had a 29-to-27 shot edge, including 21-to-20 in shots on goal. CSB was 13-of-20 on clears and had seven ground balls. The Pipers converted 17-of-20 clears and had 15 ground balls.    

"Key players for the game were Ellynor Haack on the draw, Sami Hackley on the draw and getting us started offensively," said Crandall. "Chloe Lewis and the whole defensive group forced Hamline to take tough contested shots all game. Hamline fought back in the third quarter but it was nice to see the players respond after a tough quarter and finish the game strong," he said. 
 
On the season, Fitzgibbons leads CSB with 20 goals, including a team-best 16 goals. S. Hackley is tied with Steinke for second on the team with 11 goals. With a team-best six assists, Hackley now has 17 points while Steinke has four assists and 15 points. Also for CSB, Schrepfer now has eight goals and 13 points while Osland has seven goals. Tonight, Presley Kraemer recorded her first career goal.
 
Scoring summary
 
CSB had a 9-2 edge in the opening quarter as CSB had an 11-4 shots edge. S. Hackley opened the scoring at 14:07 off an assist by E. Schrepfer for a 1-0 lead. After Hamline tied the game, CSB responded with four straight goals.

Fitzgibbons had goals at 12:51 and 11:14 as the Bennies led, 3-1. Kraemer converted a free position shot for her first-career goal at 8:27 for a 4-1 lead. Then Steinke scored the first of four goals in the first half at 7:27, taking an assist from S. Hackley for the 5-1 lead. After a goal by Hamline, the Bennies ended the quarter with four straight goals. Schrepfer hit a goal at 3:42 off an assist by S. Hackley, who then scored at 2:49 for a 7-2 lead. Steinke had consecutive goals at 2:36 and 1:45 as CSB closed the quarter strong for a 9-2 lead.

In the second quarter, CSB had a 3-1 advantage in the second quarter for a 12-3 edge at the break. In the quarter, Steinke scored her fourth goal at 13:53 for a 10-2 lead. Schrepfer added a tally at 8:28 for an 11-2 advantage. Then, three minutes later, S. Hackley knocked in her third goal at 5:04 off an assist from Kraemer as the Bennies led, 12-2.

With a 3-1 edge in the third quarter, Hamline cut the deficit to 13-6. Emma Osland's goal with five seconds left gave CSB a seven-goal advantage. The Bennies added a goal in the fourth quarter as Molly Davison had her fourth goal of the season off an assist by S. Hackley at 12:26 for a 14-6 lead.