CHESTER, Pa. -- Stevenson women's lacrosse closed out the regular season with a 13-5 road win at Widener, securing the third seed in the upcoming Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Commonwealth Tournament, which begins next week. 

Stevenson (11-6, 6-2) began taking control into the second half, outscoring Widener (10-7, 5-3) by a 7-2 count over the final two frames. McKenna Blick recorded a game-high five points with three goals and two assists, picking up three draw controls and two ground balls in another all-around performance. 

Caroline Murphy notched three goals of her own with four draw controls, while Sophie Shucosky continued her strong play at the tail end of the regular season with 10 saves. With the score tied at two, Stevenson posted four consecutive goals and seized momentum in the second quarter. Out of the break, Stevenson clamped down on the defensive end and continued building the lead. 

Widener opened the scoring before Stevenson countered with consecutive goals to cap the first quarter. Blick converted a free position at 12:11 and later pushed the Mustangs in front for the first time in the contest at 3:58 in the opening stanza. 

The Pride leveled the score at two before Stevenson registered the next four, coming from Kaitlyn Kozlowski, Isabelle VanEmburgh, Murphy and Blick, for a 6-2 advantage. Widener found the back of the net with just under one minute remaining in the opening half, trimming its deficit to 6-3 at the intermission. 

From there, the Mustangs locked down on the defensive end while adding a pair of goals in the third. Kara Yarusso and Caity Schaefer both finished off passes from Blick as the Mustangs pulled away at 8-3. Stevenson closed out the game with five of the seven goals scored in the fourth quarter with Murphy, Lan Le Crotty and Kirsten Foster getting on the scoresheet over the final 15 minutes. 

Clark Townbridge posted two goals for Widener and Maddie Medve made eight saves on the day. Hanna Ash picked up three ground balls for the Mustangs. 

NEWS AND NOTES

• The Mustangs bounced back from a setback last time out against York, eventually taking control in the regular season finale.  
• The victory pushes Stevenson into the MAC Commonwealth Semifinals. With the loss, Widener finishes as the league's four seed and is faced with a play-in game on Monday, May 2 against Lebanon Valley. 
• Despite the strong defense, Stevenson still saw its fair share of miscues in the clearing game. The Mustangs went just 4-of-9 on clearing attempts in the third quarter, one of the issues that plagues the team in the loss against York. 
• Murphy is tied for third in program history in single-season points, while ranking tied for third in single-season goals (54). 
• Murphy moved into a tie for fourth on the program's all-time assists list (54), while ranking fourth in points (214) and third in goals (158). 
• Blick scored a goal for Stevenson in each game of the regular season, now with 191 career points between four seasons at Winthrop and this season at Stevenson. 
• Blick has 146 career goals between Winthrop at Stevenson, posting multiple markers in 12 contests this season. 
• Shucosky has continued to elevate her play, posting her fifth consecutive game with 10 or more saves. 
• Stevenson has made the MAC Commonwealth Tournament each year since joining the league in 2013, with the exception of the shortened 2020 season. 
• The Mustangs move to 10-1 all-time in the series with Widener. 

UP NEXT 

• Stevenson enters the MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the number three seed, returning to action on Wednesday, May 4 for the semifinals at Messiah.