EMMITSBURG, MD — When asked if she's ever scored a bigger goal with so little time left on the clock in all her time playing lacrosse, senior Cass Belsito smiled and said, "Probably not."

"To be able to score a winning goal in a MAAC playoff game, that means a lot.  It's huge for me and it's huge for this team," said Belsito, who buried the winning goal with 13 seconds remaining in regulation to lift Siena to a thrilling 9-8 MAAC Quarterfinal victory at Mount St. Mary's Waldron Family Stadium on Sunday to advance to its seventh consecutive MAAC Semifinals appearance.  "I'm grateful to have the opportunity." 

Next, the fifth-seeded Saints (11-6) will play against No. 2 Niagara (8-8, 7-1 MAAC) on Friday, May 1 at 4 p.m. in a MAAC Tournament Semifinals match up in a neutral site at top-seed Fairfield. 

Fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary's finished 10-7 on the season. 

The Saints rallied back. After trailing 5-1 with 6:20 remaining in the second quarter, Siena pulled even in the closing minute of the third quarter and outscored the Mountaineers 8-3 the rest of the way to secure the dramatic victory.

As soon as Belsito delivered what proved to be the winner, she flung her stick high in the air causing Mount St. Mary's to earn the next possession without a draw.

But Siena staved off the final seconds to preserve it.

The gritty performance was marked by physical play on both sides of the ball. In all, there were 13 cards including eight yellow cards on the day. 

The Saints' player-up opportunities were crucial, accounting for four of their nine goals in the match.

Both Siena and Mount St. Mary's goalies, McAllister Salter and Camille Thomas, made spectacular saves throughout with Salter making eight saves and Thomas was credited with five saves. 

Elizabeth Wamp put the Saints on the board first at 10:55 with a free position goal. Mount St. Mary's responded with a free position goal by Morgan Baird at 8:04 to tie the game.

Shortly after, Haylee Bittinger scored with an assist from Brooke Molchanoff at 7:24, giving the Mountaineers a 2–1 lead to close the first quarter.

Mount St. Mary's opened the second quarter with a goal by Ava Kraszewski at 14:23, followed by a free position goal from Haylee Bittinger at 13:14, extending its lead. Molchanoff then scored another free-position goal for the Mountaineers at 6:30, bringing the score to 5–1 in their favor. The Saints responded with a player-up free position goal by Wamp at 2:09, narrowing the deficit. Olivia Nicholson, assisted by Avery Connolly, added another goal for the Saints at 1:11, closing the gap to 5–3 by the end of the quarter.

Siena staged a comeback in the third quarter, narrowing Mount St. Mary's lead with a series of key goals. Cassidy Bonura scored twice, first at 13:19 and later at 4:33 with a player-up free position goal. The Mountaineers responded with a player-up goal by Molchanoff at 8:56, assisted by Hailey Chester, maintaining a temporary advantage. In the final minute, Nicholson netted a player-up goal at with 37 seconds left, tying the game at 6–6, setting the stage for a tense final quarter.

Koehler Nieman opened the scoring for the Saints at 14:41, followed by Wamp's goal at 12:19, assisted by Bonura. The Mountaineers responded with a player-up goal from Morgan Ortega at 8:36. MK Allingham then equalized for the Mountaineers at 4:17, bringing the score to 8–8. In the final moments, Belsito scored the decisive player-up goal with 11 seconds remaining, assisted by Wamp, to clinch the win for the Saints.