ST. JOSEPH, Minn. — The College of Saint Benedict lacrosse team put together a dominant Senior Day performance at CSB Turf Stadium, rolling past Hamline, 19–5, behind a breakout effort from first-year
Rayna Malmberg. Malmberg scored a career-high five goals and added two assists for a seven-point day to lead the Bennies, who improved to 5-6 overall and 3-4 in WIAC play. In addition, CSB clinched a WIAC playoff berth with the victory.e
Senior
Sami Hackley (Plymouth, Minn.) added four goals, while first-year
Emma Theisen (Rosemount, Minn.) and
Bella Brisk (Oceanside, Calif.) each contributed three goals in the win. The offensive surge helped Saint Benedict strengthen its hold on the No. 5 seed in the conference standings with one regular-season game remaining. Hamline, now 10-4 overall and 3-4 in the WIAC, sits just behind the Bennies, while Wisconsin–Stevens Point—CSB's upcoming opponent Sunday—stands at 1-5 in league play with two games left.
Before the game, Saint Benedict honored its senior class of Hackley,
Ella Steinke (Plymouth, Minn.) and
Grace Fitzgibbons (Minneapolis, Minn.) in a pregame ceremony.
The Bennies wasted no time taking control, jumping out to an 8-1 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 13-3 by halftime. They maintained that momentum throughout the second half, outscoring Hamline 7-2 over the final two quarters.
Malmberg's seven-point performance marked a career best in both goals and total points. She now ranks third on the team with 36 points and sits fourth in goals with 19. Hackley's four goals pushed her season total to 35 and extended her program-record career marks to 166 goals and 205 points.
Theisen finished with three goals and an assist, while also contributing four draw controls and two caused turnovers. She now has 23 goals and 27 points this season. Brisk set a career high with her three goals, increasing her season total to five.
Tess Cavanaugh (Edina, Minn.) recorded two goals and an assist for her first multi-goal game of the season and now has five goals this year and 16 for her career. Sophomore
Lilly Fandel Thompson (St. Louis Park, Minn.) added two goals to bring her season total to 16, and junior
Lizzie Schrubbe (Andover, Minn.) tallied a goal and two assists, pushing her career assist total to 90. Fitzgibbons added two assists in the victory. In goal, first-year
Ashley Fischer (Madison Lake, Minn.) made seven saves while adding a ground ball and a caused turnover.
Statistically, Saint Benedict controlled the game from start to finish. The Bennies outshot Hamline, 39-15, and dominated draw controls, 19-7, while converting 12 of 13 clear attempts. Hamline held a slight 17-16 edge in ground balls.