CANTON, N.Y. – The Union College women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 9-2 lead and cruised the rest of the way for a 13-6 Liberty League victory over St. Lawrence University in the penultimate game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon at Hall-Leet Stadium.
 
The win moves Union (10-3, 6-3 Liberty League) up into a three-way tie for second place in the Liberty League standings with one game remaining on the regular-season slate. A win in next Saturday's regular-season finale at the University of Rochester would assure the Garnet Chargers of no worse than fourth place in the upcoming conference tournament.
 
Sophomore Gillian Joseph had another big game for the Garnet Chargers, almost matching the output of St. Lawrence (6-8, 4-4 Liberty League) by herself with five goals and an assist for six points. Junior Christina Guanci and sophomore Maddy Schiller added two goals apiece, with Schiller chipping in two assists as well for four points. Sophomore Anna Dembowski led the defensive effort with a career-high nine ground balls and two caused turnovers.
 
The visitors set the tone for the day by dominating the first period, outshooting SLU by a 12-1 margin and scoring the period's only four goals. Four different players found the net for Union during the run, with goals from Joseph and Guanci following tallies by juniors Lana Mickelson and Maddie Doyle. Union put up four more goals in the second stanza, with Joseph scoring a pair and both Schiller and senior Greta Maurer scoring once each, to take an 8-2 lead into the half.
 
The Saints increased the offensive pressure in the second half, but junior Sydney Widlitz turned aside nine shots over the final 30 minutes to help secure the victory. Joseph led the team with two goals and an assist after halftime as Union outscored SLU 5-4 to finish off the win.
 
Widlitz finished the afternoon with 12 saves as Union outshot St. Lawrence by a 33-30 margin.
 
Union will look to close out the regular season on a high note next Saturday at 2 p.m. at Rochester.