BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – For the first time under head coach Shannon Hertz, the Bloomsburg University lacrosse team took down a top-15 ranked opponent as the Huskies led wire-to-wire in their 14-13 win over #12 Mercy College Friday afternoon.
 
The score was tied just once, and the Huskies never trailed as they improved to 7-3 for the season and snapped a two-game skid.
 
Senior Abby Kalish (Garnet Valley, Pa./Garnet Valley) kicked things off for the Huskies as she got the ball near midfield from Kelsey Clauss (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) after winning the draw and went straight to the cage. Her low shot bounced under the goalie and gave BU a 1-0 lead 23 seconds into the action. Clauss got one of her own three minutes later as she scored on a free position shot to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead.
 
The Mavericks got one back with 8:17 to go in the first quarter before Kalish pushed the Huskies' lead to 3-1 on a free position shot. The two teams went back and forth on the final three goals of the quarter, with Maya Fulmer (Collegeville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) scoring with 2:26 to play as Bloomsburg clung to the 4-3 lead at the end of the first.
 
Mercy scored just over a minute into the second quarter to tie the game at 4-4 before Clauss scored on her second free position shot. After the Mavericks tied it again at 5-5, the Huskies went on a two-goal spurt by Kalish and Clauss to extend the Huskies' lead to two, 7-5, midway through the second quarter.
 
After Mercy scored a free position shot with 6:03 to play, Amanda Stoll (Farmingdale, N.Y./Farmingdale) gave the Huskies a two-goal cushion with a man-up goal at the 2:55 mark. Bloomsburg carried the 8-6 lead into halftime.

Bloomsburg took its largest lead of the game with back-to-back goals from Kate Roberts (Lehman, Pa./Lake Lehman) and Madison Coyle (Williamstown, N.J./Williamstown) to open the third quarter. After Mercy cut the lead back to three, Coyle extended the lead back to four with her second goal of the game with 2:24 remaining in the third. The Mavericks cut the lead back to three with a goal by Taylor Bishop with 1:37 to play.
 
Kelsey Kilgallon (Spring City, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) got on the scoreboard with her first of the game at the 13:35 mark in the fourth to push the advantage to four, 12-8. After the two teams traded goals, the Huskies held a 13-9 lead with 7:07 to play in the fourth. The Mavericks scored back-to-back goals to make a two-goal game with 3:43 to play. Kalish extended the lead back to three with her 22^nd of the season with 2:10 to play in regulation.
 
The Mavericks made it interesting with a pair of goals in 22 seconds to get to within one, 14-13, with 1:22 to play. Kalish won the final draw of the game, and the Huskies rode out the clock to hang on to the 14-13 win.
 
Kalish led the team with five goals, while Clauss posted two goals and two assists and won a team-best 10 draw controls.
 
Erika Biehl (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) led the feisty Husky defense with four caused turnovers and five ground balls, while Lauren Foley (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) made six saves in the win.
 
The Huskies out-shot the Mavericks 32-23 and held a 20-11 advantage in draws.
 
Bloomsburg returns to action next Tuesday when the Huskies host #4 East Stroudsburg for a 2:00 pm game at Steph Pettit Stadium.