ASTON, Pa. - The Neumann University women's lacrosse team pulled an upset beating Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) Gwynedd-Mercy College 14-12 Monday afternoon.

The Knights needed something special and their sites were set on Gwynedd-Mercy. The Griffins won the CSAC Championship last year and selected to finish second in the coaches pre-season poll. Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders won't upset us. The Knights record its first significant win of the season.

Alexandra Bohen led the Knights with three goals and two assist for five points. Meghan Garsey also contributed five points with two goals and three assist. Erica Crabtree scored three goals and Koula Gregor accrued three points (2 goals, 1 assist)

“Koul-aid” Gregor has plenty of punch to her game. Gregor is sure-handed and clearly enjoys outworking everyone on the field. If you look up “Elmers Glue”, you will see a picture of Gregor, the glue that holds the team together.

Both teams were in the mood to impress the other and no lead was safe, as both teams kept the game close. The Knights entered the field singing the words “believe” and looking to put those words to the test. The Griffins aren't short on confidence, as they would open the scoring 1:49 into the first half.

Gregor opened the scoring for the Knights off a feed from Meghan Garsey. The game went back and forth in the first half. The Griffins opened up its largest lead (7-5) of the game with 10:26 remaining in the half.

The Knights tightened their defense and executed their offense for the remaining 10:26. Neumann would not give up another in the half. Crabtree scored two of the three goals to give the Knights an 8-7 halftime lead. Andrea Lorusso scored the free position shot to actually give them the one point lead.

The Knights put the “believe” theme to the test. On three different occasions the Knights drew back to level terms. Garsey started the belief, as she scored to tie the game at 10-10. Garsey runs until either the opponent gets tired or she does. In either case, she cashes in when the moment is right.

Suzanne Sheehan scored the next goal for the Knights to tie the score at 11-11. On a great individual move, she cut in towards the middle and fired away, as the keeper went weak legged from the low shot.

Gregor made the third come from behind goal and tied the score at 12-12. It appeared a play was called out “flying lotus” and the Knights responded. As the Knights floated in a circular motion, Gregor spun off her defender in “flying lotus” style. The whip-like motion created more momentum and venom in her shot for the goal to score.

Lorusso had two moments in the game and those moments became costly for the Griffins. In the first half she put the Knights ahead by one before halftime break. In the second half, Lorusso sealed the deal, as she scored with 8:29 remaining in the game.  

The Knights controlled the game with possession and fantastic movement off the ball. Sam Kotowski made some clever saves at the end of the game and give the Knights fan the ability to take repeated deep breathes of air. Kotowski made 12 saves in the game.

When the Knights needed a clear towards the end of the game, they got one. One of the clears involved Emily “Speedy Gonzales” Sanders evading three Griffins and carried the ball to the attack safely. Sanders appeared to be shut down, but then a whole group of Griffins were trailing her as the gap got larger and larger.

Bohen concluded the goal scoring with 1:55 remaining in the game and the crowd rejoiced in the Knights 5-1 start to the season. This is the best start for the women's lacrosse program and Coach Malone is off to a dream start in her first season.

"It was a great team effort today, it feels great to get our first conference win under our belts", remarked Coach Malone. "We just need to continue to believe and work hard".

The Knights compete against CSAC's Rosemont College on March 24, slated for 1 p.m.