LOUDONVILLE, NY – Junior goalkeeper Ally Mervine stepped up and made a total of 10 saves and only allowed seven goals as the Siena Saints handed the Holy Cross Crusaders their first loss of the season by a final score of 13-7. The Saints are now winners of their last two game, each coming at home on Hickey Field.
 
Mervine's 10 saves are a new season-high, as she earns her second win of the season. Sophomore Mary Soures scored a team-high three goals, while redshirt sophomore Kaitlyn Dowsett notched four points with two goals and two assists. Senior Annie Brennan and juniors Nicole McNeely and Kerry Gerety each also scored twice. Siena led Holy Cross into 16 total turnovers while converting 17 of 18 clear attempts on the afternoon.
 
For Holy Cross, Jolie Creo, Bryn Carroll, and Kara McDuffee each scored twice as Izzy Grant scored the other goal for the Crusaders. Haley Walker nabbed three ground balls, and Margaret Mitchell would get six draw controls. Goalie Grace Flink made 12 saves while allowing 13 Siena goals in the night.
 
Both sides held strong defensively over the first seven minutes until Holy Cross broke the ice to take a 1-0 lead, and quickly made it 3-0 by the 18:20 mark. The Saints would finally get on the board with 15:54 left in the first half as Julia Pelcher scored her lone goal of the day.
 
That goal would get the Saints offense going, as Dowsett would score her first under a minute later and Soures tied the game 3-3 with 12:46 to play. After a Holy Cross goal to break the tie, Soures and McNeely would each tally scores as the defense held the Crusaders scoreless over the final 11 minutes of the half for a 5-4 lead.
 
McNeely would score right out of the gate for the Saints to start the second half, as they grabbed a two-goal lead. Neither side would score for over 10 minutes, until Holy Cross came through and tied the game by the 11-minute mark as things stood 6-6. But Mervine and the Saints defense held strong in the second half, allowing only one goal the rest of the way en route to seven goals as the Green and Gold locked down the win.
 
With today's victory, head coach Abigail Rehfuss passes former Saints coach Bryanna Borelli for third in all-time wins by a Siena coach as she collected the 19^th win of her career. With six more wins this season, she will tie Jake McHerron for second on the list as he sits at 25 wins.
 
The Saints return to the field this Saturday, Feb. 29 when they head to Army West Point. The opening draw for the matchup will get things going at 3 p.m.