ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – With a dominating defensive performance in the second half, the College of Saint Benedict (8-1, 5-0 MWLC) clinched a postseason berth in a 10-5 Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference victory over Cornell College (8-7, 2-3 MWLC) on a cold and overcast Saturday afternoon (April 22) at the CSB Athletic Complex.

With the victory, Saint Ben's recorded its eighth straight win and fifth in a row in the MWLC. In its five conference wins, CSB has a dominating 119-to-66 margin over opponents. CSB leads the MWLC at 5-0 followed by Lake Forest at 5-1; Northwestern at 3-1 and Augsburg at 2-2. With two league games to go, CSB has one of the top four spots clinched for the MWLC Tourney on May 3 and 6.

In its inaugural season, the Bennies, picked seventh in the MWLC preseason poll, have continued to find confidence game-by-game, noted Head Coach Patrick Crandall.

"The team played a tough game in tough weather conditions today. They had a slow start trading some goals and figuring out Cornell's zone defense," said Crandall, whose team will host UW-LaCrosse at 5 p.m., Monday (April 24) at the CSB Athletic Field. "It took our offense a little time to adjust to the zone they were running. In the meantime, we turned up the pressure in the ride and forced a number of turnovers to give our offense some more opportunities. The defense was a little strained at the beginning, but they stiffened after the halftime break," said Crandall.
 
"First year goalie Chloe Lewis made some key saves to help turn the momentum in our favor. After half, our offense started to click and we were able to move the ball around effectively," said Crandall, whose first-year goalie (Lewis) recorded five saves in playing 60 minutes for the ninth straight game. With her leading the defense, CSB held an opponent to five goals or fewer for the fifth time in ninth games.
 
After trailing 2-1 early, CSB outscored Cornell, 9-3 over the remaining 45:06 of the game. CSB tied the game with six seconds to go in the first quarter on a Grace Fitzgibbons' goal. Affter trailing 3-2 early in the second frame, scored three straight, including a goal from Ella Steinke with 24 seconds left as Saint Ben's held a 5-4 lead at halftime. In the eight-game winning streak, CSB has not trailed at halftime and three times led by just one goal. Then, the Bennies have turned on the defensive pressure to earn victories. That was the case again today as the Bennies had a 5-1 edge in the final two quarters.

Saint Benedict, which had a 31-to-10 shots edge, including 23-to-6 over the final three periods, was led by two goals each from Emma Osland, Sami Hackley, Ella Steinke, and Emma Schrepfer.

The Bennies controlled the match as proven out in statistics. CSB had a 42-to-21 margin in ground balls and a 15-to-5 edge in draw controls. CSB was 14-of-14 on clears while Cornell converted 14-of-15.
 
"Jenna Timm and Chloe Lewis had great defensive games and Ella Steinke and Sami Hackley helped control the draw and offense. Ella and Sami's dominant draw work helped hold Cornell's offensive opportunities to a minimum," said Crandall, whose team has a pair of MWLC games remaining before the league tourney. The Bennies play at Monmouth on Wednesday, April 26 before hosting Augsburg in the regular season final on April 29 at the CSB Athletic Field.
 
"It is exciting here at CSB to have a chance to extend play into the playoffs in our first season. I'm so proud of this group and the way they have played and competed this entire season," he said.

Scoring Summary
Cornell opened the scoring at 10:51 of the first quarter on an even-handed goal by Meg Lewis for a 1-0 lead. S. Hackley's even-handed goal off an assist from Miller at 1:42 leveled the game at 1-1. In the final 40 seconds each team added a goal. Cornell's Cece Zanoni, off an assist from Meg Lewis, gave the Rams the lead at the 40 second mark. But with just six seconds left in the quarter, Fitzgibbons answered for CSB, using an assist in the middle from Miller, as the Bennies pulled even at 2-2.

Early in the second quarter, Zanoni scored her second goal on a free position shot for a 3-2 margin. CSB responded with three straight goals and never trailed again. Kraemer's unassisted tally at 6:57 tied the match. Off an assist from S. Hackley, Schrepfer gave CSB its first lead at 4:09. Then Steinke pushed the margin to 5-3 off a Miller assist at 2:20. Cornell drew within 5-4 on a goal from Hailey Sieler, off an assist from Sabrina Ibanez with 24 seconds until halftime.

CSB asserted control early in the third quarter with consecutive goals from Osland. First, she took an assist from Fitzgibbons for a 6-4 lead at the 13:31 mark. Then, she had an unassisted tally less than a minute later (12:50) for the 7-4 advantage.

Cornell cut the advantage to 7-5 on Ibanez's unassisted even-handed goal at 7:19. But CSB was in control, and with a little late quarter magic, Steinke's even-handed goal off a second assist from Fitzgibbons pushed the lead to 8-5 at the break.

In the fourth quarter, Hackley had her second goal on a free position shot at the 6:54 mark for a 9-5 lead. With 4:57 left in the game, Schrepfer scored an evenhanded goal off an assist from Osland to conclude the scoring. From there, CSB's defense asserted pressure and the Bennies ran out the clock.