MaryKate Staines
MaryKate Staines

Bentley Defeats No. 25 Assumption 14-13 for 3rd Straight Win

WORCESTER, Mass. – Bentley women's lacrosse won its third straight game on Tuesday with a 14-13 victory over Northeast-10 rival and No. 25 ranked Assumption on the road.

The game featured seven ties, but Bentley broke the last tie with a goal by freshman Julia Glavin (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) at 14:32 of the 2nd half and maintained its lead the rest of the way for the victory.

Glavin's goal broke a 10-10 tie. Junior MaryKate Staines (Gaithersburg, Md./Damascus) then scored less than a minute later to put the Falcons up 12-10. Assumption got a goal back from Sarah Reilly at the 12:24 mark, but two straight Bentley goals gave them a three goal lead.

Senior Carolyn Cruise (East Greenwich, R.I./East Greenwich) found the back of the net with 11:43 remaining for a 13-11 Falcons lead, and senior Paige O'Neill (Amityville, N.Y./St. John's) followed with a goal at 9:05 to make it 14-11. Staines had the assists on both of those goals.

Assumption would receive goals from Reilly and Allison Foley, which came with 5:46 to play to trim Bentley's lead to 14-13.

Over the remaining time, Bentley came up with three big stops on Assumption possessions. Both O'Neill and Kathleen Gillespie (Topsfield, Mass./Masconomet) caused turnovers to give Bentley the ball back. Then with just 33 seconds remaining, goalie Eliza Bresler (Newton, Mass./Newton North) made a big save on a free-position shot with 33 seconds left to preserve the victory.

In the first half, the teams traded 3-0 runs to open the game. Bentley's goals came from Staines, Cruise and freshman Claire Thompson (Slingerlands, N.Y./Guilderland). Assumption battled back to take a 5-4 lead, but the Falcons scored three of the half's final five goals and the game was tied 7-7 at the break.

With the win, the Falcons' record improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 NE10, and they have now beaten two ranked teams this season. They will go for four in a row on Saturday at home against Stonehill.