CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. (Feb. 23) – Sunday was a day of celebration for the Waynesburg University women's lacrosse program. The Yellow Jackets traveled to former Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) rival and current NAIA program Thomas More and returned home with an emotional 7-5 victory.
 
The win was the first for head coach Gennaro Bonaventura. It also ended a 45-game losing streak that stretched back to April 20, 2016. The victory also served as a measure of revenge for the Yellow Jackets (1-0), who dropped a 9-7 loss to the Saints (0-2) last year.
 
The freshman/junior combo of Eve O'Sullivan (Latrobe, Pa. / Greater Latrobe) and Bre Martini (Pickerington, Ohio / Pickerington North) was the driving force behind the victory. Both players logged hat tricks in the victory.
 
Martini scored Waynesburg's first goal of the year on a man-up opportunity just 1:29 into the game. After Thomas More knotted things up at 1-1 roughly four minutes later, O'Sullivan notched her first collegiate tally one minute later to make the score 1-1.
 
Again, momentum swung back to the home team roughly a minute later, but the Yellow Jackets countered with O'Sullivan's second goal of the contest with 19:10 remaining in the first half. Senior Jackie Adler (Allison Park, Pa. / Hampton) picked up Waynesburg's first assist of the spring on the point.
 
Thomas More tied the game up with roughly three minutes remaining in the first half. By the time the opening period ended, the scored was knotted at 3-3.
 
During the fifth minute of the second half, sophomore Kristen Byler (Belleville, Pa. / Bellville Mennonite) split the pipes for the first time this spring off an assist from Martini. Just under four minutes later, O'Sullivan completed her hat trick to make the score 5-3 Waynesburg with 20:43 remaining in the contest.
 
The Saints weren't ready to concede the win just yet, as they posted back-to-back scores of their own to tie things up with just under 18 minutes left on the scoreboard. However, Martini wasn't about to let her team suffer a 46^th-straight loss and put the game away with goals two and three on the day to clinch the memorable win.
 
First-year senior Christina Golonka (Burgettstown, Pa. / Madonna) played a big role defensively with a team-high four ground balls. Not only did Martini tally nearly half of her team's goals, but she recorded a match-high five successful draw controls.
 
Junior Riley Yoder (Lancaster, Ohio / Fisher Catholic) stood strong in goal by stopping nine-of-14 shots on goal.
 
Waynesburg will look for a second-straight victory on Tuesday, March 10, when it hosts Muskingum. Start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.