MISHAWAKA, Ind. - The Marian women's lacrosse team notched their third consecutive win on Wednesday afternoon, as the Knights raced past the Bethel Pilots 15-5 in their WHAC opener. Marian moves to 5-3 on the season, as they begin conference play 1-0.

After a string of high-scoring games, the Knights and Pilots battled through a low-scoring first period, with the two teams combining for five goals. The scoring would pick up late in the period, with Ruby Mason netting the first goal of the game just over six minutes into play. Bethel quickly matched the goal, but in the final two minutes a pair of unassisted scores from Rylie Boezeman and Alex Dean gave Marian a 3-2 lead on the Pilots. 

Bethel brought the game level once more 13 seconds into the second quarter as Megan Williams crept through the defense, but Marian was able to respond and keep their lead with Allyson Cissell's first goal of the game. At the 8:52 mark, Bethel recorded their fourth goal to once again bring the game to a deadlock once more, as the Knights were unable to deny Serenity Kretschmer of her scoring play. With the game tied 4-4, Marian's offense found a new level, with the second goal of the day from Mason giving Marian control of the lead. The goal with 7:07 to play in the first half gave Marian a 5-4 lead, and thanks to their stingy defense, the Knights were able to keep the Pilots off the board for the remainder of the half.

With Marian's defense increasing their play, the offense came to a match in the final 2:30 of the half, as Jada Taylor and Alex Dean scored in the waning moments to extend Marian's lead to three goals at the break.

The 7-4 lead would be all Marian needed, as the Knights continued to attack the back of the cage in the second half. Anna Moore and Ruby Mason each scored in the first three minutes of the second half, capping a 5-0 scoring run for Marian. Mason scored her fourth goal of the day with 8:15 to play, and saw goals from Lizzie Piercy and Esbeydi Montes follow to increase the lead to seven after three quarters of play.

Leading 12-5 entering the final quarter, Marian finished their first WHAC game on a high note, out-scoring the Pilots 3-0 in the final period. Mason netted her fifth goal of the day with 11:52 to play, while Alex Dean completed a hat trick as the clock ticked under five minutes to play. Allyson Cissell capped the scoring with her second goal, starting the mercy clock with two minutes to play, with the Knights being able to ride out the clock and close their 15-5 win. 

Mason led the Knights in scoring with five goals and two assists, scoring seven points on the day. Mason also won two of the team's 10 draw controls in the victory. Dean scored three times and assisted on one goal while winning three draws, and Cissell recorded her first-career multi-goal game with two in the win. Rylie Boezeman collected a team-best nine ground balls in the win. In goal, Katherine Hirsch moved to 5-3 on the season, allowing five goals while making six saves.

Marian returns home on Saturday to take on No. 5 Lawrence Tech University. The match will begin at 1:00 p.m.

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