BRUNSWICK, Maine -- The Bridgewater State University women's lacrosse team earned its first-ever NCAA victory with a 16-9 win over Saint Joseph's College in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday afternoon on the campus of Bowdoin College. 

The  Bears (13-8), who are making their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and seventh overall, advance to Sunday's second round where they will face fourth-ranked Bowdoin at 1:00 PM on Ryan Field. Bridgewater also extends its winning streak to seven games with the win.

Saint Joseph's ends the season with an overall record of 17-2. The Monks entered the tournament having won 17 straight contests while averaging 15.5 goals per game. They were held to under ten goals for just the fourth time this season.

Junior midfielder Lauren Geary (Hull, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with three goals,a pair of ground balls, three caused turnovers and six controlled draws. Geary and sophomore attack Melissa Renauld (Framingham, Mass.) were major factors in the Bears dominating the draw by a margin of 20-7. Renauld also finished with six draws to go along with four goals and an assist.

Junior attack Marissa Yowell (Ashland, Mass.) led a balanced BSU offensive attack as she tallied a game-high six points on four goals and two assists. Sophomore attack Alex King (Weymouth, Mass.) also potted four goals, while senior attack Riley Cachelin (Westwood, Mass.) dished out a game-best five assists.

BSU sophomore goaltender Allie Forman (Marblehead, Mass.) notched eight saves to record her 11th win of the season.

The Bears notched the first six goals of the contest and led 8-1 with 13 minutes remaining in the first half. Yowell scored three times during the run while King notched a pair of goals.

The scoring was even for the remainder of the game, but the Monks were unable to get any closer than five goals.

Junior midfielder Kat Gadbois (Scarborough, Maine) led the Monks with four goals while freshman attack Elyse Caiazzo (Scarborough, Maine) scored three for Saint Joseph's. Sophomore attack Kelsey Dumond (Scarborough, Maine) had three assists in the setback.

Junior Michelle Cunha (Enfield, Conn.) had nine stops between the pipes for the Monks, who received three caused turnovers from sophomore midfielder Jackie Wilson (Tiverton, R.I.).

Bridgewater State held a 30-23 edge in shots The Bears also converted 4 of 7 free position attempts, while Monks did not attempt a shot on the free position.

Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information