WAVERLY, Iowa – With hat tricks or better from Grace Fitzgibbons, Sami Hackley and Molly Davison, the College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team (3-1, 1-0 MWLC) won its first-ever Midwest Women's Lacrosse Conference (MWLC) game with a 17-4 decision over Wartburg (2-8, 1-2 MWLC) on Wednesday (April 5).

Fitzgibbons and Hackley both had four goals while Davison added three for the Bennies which had five players with two or more goals. With a 13-goal margin, CSB registered a third straight win by double-digit total. In its inaugural season, CSB has already had a series of firsts with another tonight in winning its first-ever conference game in the MWLC. And now they have won three straight games, also a program-first.

"The team started off well with a great draw win by Emma Osland and a quick goal by Annika Anderson. The team turned up the pressure on the ride creating turnovers and extra scoring opportunities," said CSB head coach Patrick Crandall. "The team is starting come together and find their continuity across the field. Sami Hackley, Grace Fitzgibbons and Emma Osland had great games on the draw and in the offensive end," added Crandall, whose team will face Hamline on April 10 in St. Paul before hosting Lake Forest on April 12.
 
After opening with a 3-1 lead in the opening quarter, CSB took control in the second stanza with six unanswered goals for an 9-1 lead and finished an 8-to-1 quarter with an 11-2 advantage. Leading that rush was S. Hackley who had a trio of goals. In the second half, CSB had a 6-2 margin, including a 4-0 margin in the final quarter. It was the second straight game when CSB held an opponent scoreless in the final stanza of play.

In total, CSB dominated play, putting together a 34-to-11 shots edge over Wartburg. The Bennies had a 24-to-17 advantage in ground balls and was successful of 11-of-12 clears. CSB goalie Chloe Lewis had four saves as she improved 3-1 in goal.

Fitzgibbons had her third straight game with four or more goals and now has 14 on the season along with a team-high 18 points. S. Hackley had her first career hat trick and with four goals now has eight on the season and 10 points overall. Davison not only had her first career goal tonight but also had a hat trick for the first time. Emma Osland, Annika Anderson both had two goals for a second straight game while Ella Steinke and Emma Schrepfer had goals for a second straight contest.

Steinke is second on the team in points with 11 after tallying her seventh goal. Schrepfer had six goals and four assists for 10 points while Anderson has five goals and four assists for nine points. Osland's six goals in 2023 gives her seven points.

Scoring Summary
In the opening period, Anderson's fourth goal of the season at 14:10 opened the scoring as the Bennies had a 1-0 lead. Fitzgibbons converted a shot from the circle at 9:47 for the 2-0 advantage. Less than 10 seconds later, after a draw control win by S. Hackley, Steinke scored off an assist from Anderson for an 3-0 advantage. The Bennies scored those three goals on just five shots.

Wartburg broke up the run with a goal from Britta Solheim at 5:38 of the quarter.  After the opening quarter, CSB had an 8-4 shots edge and 8-7 margin in ground balls. Bennies were also successful on five of six clears while both teams had seven turnovers.

With 11:19 to play in the second quarter, Davison scored her first career goal off an assist from Fitzgibbons as CSB took a 4-1 lead. Then at 10:27, Osland tallied her fifth goal of the season for a 5-1 lead. CSB extended the lead to 7-1 on a pair of goals by S. Hackley (8:28, 6:22). Fitzgibbons had her second score of the night with a goal at 4:30 off an assist by S. Hackley. Then, Hackley added her third goal of the game at 1:56 for a 9-1 advantage.

After a Wartburg goal, CSB had another goal by Anderson off an assist by S. Hackley at 1:08 for a 10-2 margin. A second goal from Osland provided CSB with an 11-2 lead with seven seconds left until halftime. By halftime, CSB had a 22-to-6 margin in shots, including 14-to-2 in the quarter. In addition, the Bennies had a 17-to-9 margin in ground balls and had six clears in seven attempts.

In the third quarter, S. Hackley had her fourth goal of the night for a 12-3 lead at 8:44. A goal from Schrepfer and another by Davison at 13:36 gave CSB a 13-4 advantage.

In the fourth quarter, CSB had a 4-0 advantage as Davison and Fitzgibbons scored twice. Off an assist from Anderson at 13:36, Davison gave CSB a 14-4 lead. She followed with another tally for her hat trick at 11:57, taking an assist from Schrepfer for the 15-4 lead. Fitzgibbons scored her third goal at 5:49 and finished the scoring with an unassisted tally at 4:18 for the 17-4 final.