CHARLESTON, W.Va.—The University of Charleston women's lacrosse team picked a huge MEC win on Thursday afternoon, after eight goals from attacker Emma Renda led them to a second half surge, defeating the Falcons from Notre Dame College 21-13.

THE BASICS
SCORE – Charleston 21, NDC 13
LOCATION – Institute, W.Va.
RECORDS - Charleston (5-10), NDC (7-10)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half of play was close between the two sides, as they both fought to grab the win, as both sides needed to win in order to continue to the MEC Tournament. The Golden Eagles, however, started the scoring, as UC's standout attackers Samantha Youngman (1) and Emma Renda (2) worked offensively past the Falcon defense, to put UC up 3-0 with 27:21 left to play. Less than six minutes later, Renda sliced past Notre Dame, giving Charleston a 4-1 advantage with less than twenty to play. 
 
The Falcons were able to grab two more goals, before Brianna Rock gave Charleston another goal, giving UC a 5-3 edge. Another goal for NDC gave attacker Aryanna Jones a fire inside, as she shot to successful shots back to back, putting the score at 7-4 with 11:24 until the half. Three more goals from the dynamic duo of Renda and Youngman allowed the Golden Eagles to hold a firm 10-7 lead over the visitors at the half.
 
Youngman opened up the scoring again in the last thirty minutes of the game, helping to give Charleston a big 11-7 lead over the Falcons. Notre Dame, however, didn't give up easy, scoring four quick goals in less than seven minutes, to tie the game at 12-12. Midfielder Rachel Kerwin, and Rock, were each able to use their powerful shots to give the Golden Eagles a 14-12 lead, as the game continued to wind down.
 
Within a few minutes of these goals, Renda was back at it again, moving past multiple Falcon defenders to snag her seventh goal of the day, and giving UC momentum to win the game. Attacker Esther Yi dug deep to find the net, as the scoring frenzy from the Golden Eagles continued. Charleston saw five more goals before the end of the game from Rock (1), Renda (1), Jones (1), Colleen Ryan (1), and Youngman (1). These final goals gave UC a 21-13 win over the Falcons.

CHARLESTON INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
GOALS:Emma Renda (8)
ASSISTS: Peryton Harris; Brianna Rock (2)
GROUNDBALLS: Samantha Youngman (5)
SAVES: Kyra Tye (14)

UP NEXT 
Charleston will host Wheeling Jesuit University on Sunday, April 28^th, with the game set to start at 1:00 p.m. This game will also be UC's Senior Game, recognizing the 2019 graduating seniors.