SOUTHFIELD, Mich. – The Siena Heights women's lacrosse team faced the top seed Lawrence Tech in the NAIA National Championship Quarterfinal round on Wednesday morning. The Saints (10-9) were eliminated from the tournament with a 12-9 defeat to the Blue Devils.

Hannah Merrick led the way for Siena Heights with three goals and two assists in the game. Madison Spell added three scores, while Catherine Androwski scored twice. Emily Durr led with five ground balls and recorded 13 saves in the net for the Saints. Marissa Cirino led with five draw controls and recorded an assist.

The Saints took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Spell and Androwski in the opening two minutes of play. The Blue Devils responded with back-to-back scores to tie things up with just under six and a half minutes to play in the opening period. Spell added a second goal at 5:23 to recapture the lead. Merrick added an insurance goal at 4:46 for the 4-2 advantage when the quarter completed.

Lawrence Tech scored in the opening minute of the second to cut the SHU lead to just one. The hosts added three more goals to pull ahead 6-4. Spell completed her hat trick at the 8:27 mark of the second, and Merrick followed suit with another goal to tie the game at six. The Blue Devils finished the half with two more scores to hold an 8-6 lead as the game moved to the break.

The Blue Devils tallied two goals in the ninth and eighth minute to increase the lead to 10-6. Merrick added her third of the contest with just 11 seconds left on the clock to bring the score to 10-7 as the teams moved into the final quarter of regulation.

Lawrence Tech extended the lead to 11-7 with a goal at 9:47. Emily Pringle notched a goal to bring the Saints within two goals of catching the Blue Devils. The final goal was tallied with 60 seconds left as Siena Heights saw its season come to an end.

SEASON WRAP UP

The Saints finish the 2022 season with an overall record of 10-9. This was the second-consecutive year that the Saints ended the year with a winning record. It is also the second-straight NAIA tournament appearance for SHU women's lacrosse.

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