DOVER, Del. – Squeezing out the other side of a tied fourth period with a one-goal victory in their pocket, the Presbyterian College lacrosse squad gained a major bounce-back W on Wednesday afternoon in a nine-hour road trip north to Delaware State, finding the first career goal by sophomore Melissa Mucollari (sandwiched in between two Willow Hammond strikes) in crunch time for an 11-10 win.

A true seesaw affair against an opponent that had conjured up close to 30 goals in only two appearances on the brief semester, the Blue Hose held the renovated Hornets in check over the final 15 minutes of action and were rewarded with a boost to 7-0 all-time when competing against their ASUN adversary.

Not to be outdone by Hammond and Mucollari's late-game heroics to put PC over the hump, senior attacker Abby Edmisten continued her climb to the 100-goal threshold with a team-best four scores (all within the contest's first 31 minutes), giving the locker room leader 94 over her decorated tenure.
 
NOTABLES
- Wednesday's encounter saw Delaware State provide a scare to Presbyterian's perfect record against them throughout a matchup that entailed six ties, although head coach Eric Clakeley's unit never surrendered the advantage once it was acquired with only five seconds left in the opening stanza.

- Said five-second surprise came from true freshman Avery West to denote her first goal in a PC uniform, a play that rose in significance with each passing moment of the back-and-forth duel while looming large in the final box score. All told, that blink-and-you'll-miss shot and score allowed the Blue Hose to grab a two-goal lead at the break and avoid overtime once DSU landed the game's final blow with 2:28 left.

- Three consecutive Presbyterian strikes came at opportune times over the course of the second half, with Kylie Sullivan's second goal of 2023 breaking a 7-7 tie, Hammond's first connection of the 4^th disrupting an 8-8 tie, and Mucollari's signature moment cracking a 9-9 stalemate at the 4:50 stamp.

- Making amends for the season-starting defeat at the hands of a very deep Coastal Carolina squad, freshman Lilly Phillips thwarted 12 Delaware State attempts in only her second start at keeper, staying in the zone for all 60 minutes and helping preserve the W on a day where her opposition rattled off 28 looks at the net.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Mostly even during the bout's first two chapters, PC was able to waltz to halftime riding three goals in either period for a 6-4 edge. Trailing 2-1 nearing the quarter's conclusion, coach Clakeley's lineup smothered DSU with consecutive strikes just 43 seconds apart – one by senior Ava Ward which preceded West's man-up goal, assisted by fifth-year defender Paige Gacek.

- Presbyterian again waited until the second period's final ticks to do their most damage, turning control to Edmisten where she promptly found paydirt twice in less than a minute, the second of which gave PC its two-score lead at the 0:31 mark of play to snap a 4-4 draw.

- The 12^th time in her career tallying four scores or better in a single outing, Edmisten officially tied Kirstin Stenoien (2009-12) for the second-highest goal accumulation in Presbyterian's 15-year history, hitting that mark at the 13:26 stamp of the 3^rd to sit just six away from becoming the second player ever within the program to hit triple digits in that category.

- Despite reaching the 3^rd period's close with two more strikes (the other off the stick of Sullivan 10 minutes later), the Blue Hose found themselves in danger of surrendering the lead which had been coveted for over 30 minutes of game time. As the score perched deadlocked at eight with 15 to go, Hammond and Mucollari ensured PC's perfect resume against the Hornets stayed at that distinction.

- Goal #22 in Hammond's career handed the advantage back to the visitors only 48 seconds into the last phase, and while Delaware State swung to yet another tie with 11:32 to go, their pursuit of the win was hampered by Presbyterian's final pair of goals within 1:53 of each other, giving Hammond and Edmisten a combined seven scores on the afternoon.
 
UP NEXT
- The only two of PC's eight-game nonconference series to emanate from their home turf, the Blue Hose will make their 2023 Clinton debut four days from now in a battle with Boston University before staying at Bailey Memorial Stadium to meet Xavier the following weekend.

- Speaking solely of Sunday's encounter with the Terriers, the weekend closer will serve as the first ever meeting between the two schools with Boston U holding a three-game win streak at the time of writing. Putting in a minimum of 14 goals in wins over Merrimack, Stonehill, and Iona, the Massachusetts guests will face SoCon neighbor Wofford on Friday before their visit to PC 48 hours later.

- Game time is set for noon on Feb. 26, as is the follow-up contest with Xavier on March 4.