LATROBE, Pa. – The Thiel Tomcats secured the No. 3 seed in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Lacrosse Championship Tournament Saturday after defeating the Saint Vincent Bearcats on the road, 15-12.
 
The third-seeded Tomcats will face the second-seeded Chatham Cougars in a semifinal game on the road Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The top-seeded Washington & Jefferson Presidents will host the fourth-seeded Franciscan Lady Barons in the other semifinal game on Wednesday. The title game will be played on Saturday, May 1 at the highest remaining seed.
 
The winner of the PAC Championship Tournament will receive the league's automatic-qualifying bid to the NCAA Division III Championship. The field for this year's Division III Championship is scheduled to be released Monday, May 3 at 10:30 a.m. First- and second-round games are scheduled for Saturday-Sunday, May 8-9.
 
The Tomcats trailed the Bearcats 7-6 at halftime on Saturday. Thiel took control of the game near the midpoint of the second half when Ashlyn Wightman (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler), Mackenzie Quinn (Carnegie, Pa./Chartiers Valley) and Destiny Johnson (Baltimore, Md./Western) scored consecutive unassisted goals to secure a 13-10 lead.
 
Saint Vincent cut the lead down to 13-12 with 5:38 remaining in regulation, but Quinn and Ashlyn Wightman (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) added insurance goals for Thiel down the stretch.
 
Johnson led Thiel with six points (4G, 2A) while Quinn scored five goals. Ashlyn Wightman (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) recorded five points (4G, 1A) while collecting nine draw controls and five ground balls. Maddy Wightman (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler) contributed two goals.
 
Joey Smith paced the Bearcats with five points (3G, 2A).
 
Madison Liggett (Baltimore, Md./Catholic) made four saves in the second half to earn the win. Emily Ramous (Bridgeville, Pa./Chartiers Valley) also made four saves in the first 30 minutes. Kyra Lipetzky denied 16 shots for Saint Vincent.

The PAC Championship Tournament berth is the first-ever for seconded-seed Chatham. Third-seeded Thiel last appeared in a conference tournament in 2015 as members of the Ohio River Lacrosse Conference (ORLC).
 
In 2015, Thiel won a tournament semifinal game over Washington & Jefferson, 14-7. The Tomcats went on to fall to the top-seeded Saint Vincent Bearcats in the title game, 14-10.
 
Chatham defeated Thiel 14-12 at Alumni Stadium earlier this season (April 6). Bria Braddock led the Cougars in the win with five goals. Johnson paced the Tomcats with six points (5G, 1A).