NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- The Trine University women's lacrosse team erased an early deficit to storm back to a 14-12 victory over Saint Mary's College. The win is a historic one, marking the first time in program history that the Thunder have come out on top of the Belles.
The Belles came out strong scoring four unanswered goals to start the competition.
The Thunder started their response 30 seconds after the fourth goal by the opposition. Sophomore Ella Dougherty (Lowell, Mich. / Lowell) started the scoring for the team before setting up freshman Nikki Hibler's (West Lafayette, Ind. / Harrison) goal a few minutes later.
All told the streak would be five unanswered for Trine as junior Liv Ghent (Byron Center, Mich. / Caledonia) scored the fifth to give the team their first lead of the game.
Both teams would score two more in the remaining ten minutes of the first half to head into intermission with the Thunder leading 7-6.
Trine pulled away in the opening 15 minutes of the second, going on a 5-1 run to build a 12-7 lead. Saint Mary's responded with a 5-2 run of their own over the final ten minutes of the contest but it would not be enough as the Thunder finished off with the 14-12 victory.
Trine boasted a balanced offensive attack in the contest with seven players scoring goals, five of those players finished with multiple goals.
Dougherty led the way for the team finishing with four goals. Hibler and Ghent were joined by seniors Kristin John (South Bend, Ind. / St. Joe's) and Kristen Nguyen (Locust Grove, Ga. / Luella) in each tallying two goals. Freshman Danielle Gargiulo (Downers Grove, Ill. / Downers Grove) and sophomore Josie Prince (St. Charles, Mo. / Francis Howell Central) rounded out the scoring for the team.
In goal, senior Emily Morthorst picked up her first win of the season on the back of a 17-save performance.
The team improves to 3-1 following the victory. They will continue their season by traveling to face Hope College on Tuesday, March 9. Opening draw is scheduled for 5 p.m.