WASHINGTON, Pa. -- The Washington & Jefferson College women's lacrosse team battled for a 10-9 victory over Thiel College in a Presidents' Athletic Conference match at Alexandre Stadium. 

The win keeps the Presidents undefeated as they move to 6-0 in the PAC and 8-0 overall. The loss drops the Tomcats to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the league. 

W&J opened the game with three straight goals to take an early lead. Amanda Effland (Frederick, Md./Frederick) played a role in all three goals. Effland set up Clara Sherwood (Indiana, Pa./Indiana) for the initial goal just 44 seconds into the game. A little more than six minutes later, Effland would score a goal off a pass from Aisa Uhler (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing). The Presidents would extend their lead to 3-0 on the next possession when Uhler scored off an assist from Effland. 

Shortly thereafter a surge of wind and snow blew through to cause a 20-minute delay. The Tomcats regrouped with back-to-back goals following the stoppage. A man-up goal by Uhler pushed the W&J lead back to two (4-2) with 13:48 to play in the first half. 

The Tomcats tallied three straight goals to take their only lead of the match. Back-to-back scores by Maddy Wightman made the score 5-4 in favor of Thiel with 2:25 to play in the first half. A successful draw control and goal by Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School) tied the score at 5-5 at the 2:13 mark.

W&J would regain the lead with a last second goal by Sherwood before the clock expired. Uhler had the assist on the Sherwood goal that gave the Presidents a 6-5 halftime edge. 

After more than 10 plus minutes without a goal from either side, Effland opened the second half scoring with another goal off an assist from Uhler. That tally gave the Presidents a two score lead with 19:19 to play. The Tomcats answered back with consecutive goals to even the score at 7-7 with 11:51 to play. 

Sadie Firman (Richmond, Vt./Mount Mansfield Union) came up with a pair of clutch goals to help W&J regain the lead for good. She first scored unassisted with 9:36 to play. Firman then added a goal off a pass from Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School) with 8:46 to play. Labovitz made it a three-goal game when she scored unassisted with 6:56 to go. 

The Tomcats scored the final two goals, including a score with 1:12 to play, that brought the visitors back within one at 10-9. However, W&J held on for their eighth straight win to start 2021. 

Freshman goalkeeper Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata) recorded a career-best 14 saves to lead W&J to the victory. Uhler finished with a team-high five points to pace a balanced offensive effort. Gabby Galla (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) led the defense with six caused turnovers and four ground ball pickups. 

W&J wraps up the regular season Saturday afternoon with a home match against Waynesburg. Start time is scheduled for 1 p.m.