LATROBE, Pa. – For the third straight season the Thiel College women's lacrosse team will play in a conference championship game.
 
The Tomcats secured a berth in the inaugural Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORCL) championship game, which will be played Saturday, by earning a 14-7 victory over the Washington & Jefferson Presidents in the semifinals Friday afternoon at Chuck Noll Field on the campus of Saint Vincent College.
 
Thiel opened up a 3-0 lead Friday on goals from Hannah Stelmach (Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin), Samantha Burkhardt (Damascus, Md./Damascus) and Jenna Simanovsky (Plainsboro, N.J./West Windsor-Plainsboro North). Ashley Bulger got the Presidents on the board with 17 minutes remaining in the first half, but the Tomcats went on to rattle off seven straight goals and led 10-2 at halftime.
 
Cassy Mahdi (Odenton, Md./Arundel) led the Tomcats with three goals. Sharr Martin (San Diego, Calif./The Preuss School UCSD) tallied five points (1G, 4A) while Emily Harrigan (West Hartford, Conn./Hall) recorded four points (2G, 2A). Stelmach, Simanovsky and Jennifer Rickens (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) chipped in with two goals apiece.
 
Abby Spriggs (Westminster, Md./Westminster) earned the win. She made five saves in 30 minutes of work in the first half. Amy Boxer (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria) made four saves for the Tomcats in the second half.
 
Caroline Kallos paced the Presidents with three goals and an assist while Diana Harvey scored two goals to go along with one assist. Kelsey Roetenberg made 10 saves for W&J but suffered the loss.
 
The second-seeded Tomcats will play the top-seeded and tournament host Saint Vincent Bearcats Saturday at Chuck Noll Field in the ORLC championship game at 4 p.m.
 
Thiel and Saint Vincent met in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) championship game the last two seasons. Thiel defeated Saint Vincent 15-13 in 2013 to win the conference title. The Bearcats defeated the Tomcats 18-14 in the 2014 title tilt.