Belmont Abbey freshman Mackenzie Miller scored seven goals on eight shots to lead the Crusaders women's lacrosse team past the visiting Slippery Rock University by a score of 17-14 this afternoon at Alumni Field. The Crusaders snap a two game losing streak as they improve to 5-5, while the Rock drops to 1-1.

Miller led all players with seven goals on eight shots while also scooping up a pair of ground balls. She now has 31 goals on the year. Lauren DiChiara added a career-high three, while Megan Patton and Rebecca Diggs both had two. Lindsay Connolly, Katy Connery and Gina Colella all had one each. Connolly posted four assists to raise her season total to 31. Patton handed out three and DiChiara had one.

Belmont Abbey outshot the Rock 32-31, including a 23-9 margin in the first half as it built a 9-6 lead. After Slippery Rock knotted the game at two on a free position tally with 25:43 to play, the Crusaders responded with four straight markers, the last of which coming from Patton, to move the Abbey ahead for good at 6-2.

Miller closed the scoring in the first half at the 1:13 mark to halt a Slippery Rock rally to increase the Abbey's lead to 9-6 at the half.

Both teams scored eight goals in the final 30 minutes but it was the Crusaders scoring the first three of the stanza to jump ahead 12-6, punctuated by a Miller free position goal. The two teams would trade two goal runs each, and after Slippery Rock's Holly Webb fired home a free-position goal to cut the Abbey's lead to 15-11 with 6:05 to play, Patton and Connery scored in a span of just 1:08 to put any thoughts of a comeback to rest as the lead grew to 17-11. The Rock scored the final three goals of the game, but the game was already decided at that point as the Crusaders won, 17-14.

Slippery Rock won 23 of the game's 33 draw controls, but the Abbey secured a 31-20 edge in ground balls. Connery led the Abbey with three draw control wins and eight ground balls, while Meghan McSherry added five ground balls. The Crusaders caused 15 turnovers as Christine Spellman led the way with four, while Connery and Diggs both had three. Danielle Ruffalo made nine saves, all in the second half.