LATROBE, Pa. -- After a slow start to the season facing a challenging non-conference schedule, the Washington & Jefferson College women's lacrosse team is picking up momentum as April approaches. The Presidents secured their fourth-straight win Friday when they rolled to a 20-6 road victory over the Saint Vincent Bearcats at UPMC Field in Latrobe, Pa.  

The win improves W&J to 2-0 in Presidents' Athletic Conference play and 5-3 overall. The loss drops Saint Vincent to 0-2 in conference matches and 5-4 overall. 

W&J scored early and often in the win as they piled up a season-high 20 goals in the win over the Bearcats. The Red and Black led by a 7-1 score after the first quarter and swelled the lead to 13-5 at halftime. The Presidents continued to dominate over the final 30 minutes, as the Presidents scored all five third quarter goals and outscored the Bearcats by a 7-1 margin after halftime. 

Eight Presidents scored overall with four of them registering hat tricks in the victory. First-year attack Anna Kloehn (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) posted a season-high five goals to lead the offensive efforts.

Sarah Labovitz (Great Falls, Va./The Bullis School) filled the stat sheet with four goals, a team-best six draw controls and four ground balls. Emily Heck (Reading, Pa./Berks Catholic) continued her strong play, as the junior piled up four more goals to bring her season total to 18.

Senior attack Amanda Effland (Frederick, Md./Frederick) tallied three goals and added three draw controls. Effland has scored multiple goals in all eight games this season and has netted a hat trick in six occasions in 2023. 

First-years Caleigh Bogats (Oakdale, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and Brynne Stewart (Painesville, Ohio/Andrew Osborne Academy) and Mya Bolinda (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) also netted a goal each in the victory. Senior attack Lina Crowley (Potomac, Md./The Bullis School) also scored, tallied two assists and picked up four ground balls. Bogats also secured five draw controls for W&J.

Junior midfielder Sofia Jenkins (Hughesville, Md./The Calverton School) posted a team-best six points, which were all assists, as she was a major catalyst in distribution of the offense. 

Defensively, junior Paige Howe (Bowie, Md./St, John's) had a team-best three caused turnovers. Junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Brown (Charlotte Hall, Md./La Plata) made four saves as she picked up her fifth win of the season. 

W&J held major advantages in shots (33-14), ground balls (25-13) and draw controls (19-9).  

After four-straight matches away from home, W&J returns to Alexandre Stadium for a league match against Thiel College on Wednesday, April 5. Start time is scheduled for 6 p.m.