LORETTO, PA- The Red Flash honored their senior class and sent them off in style with a pair of victories on Saturday, downing Mercyhurst 9-8 and Gannon 11-9 inside the Stokes Natatorium.

SFU 9 MERCYHURST 8

Saint Francis set the tone early in the opener against the Lakers as Ani Aghakhanian (La Crescenta, Calif/La Valley College) and Erin O'Neill (Landsdale, Pa/North Penn) each scored in the opening quarter to give SFU an early 2-0 advantage. The Lakers briefly flipped the script in the second quarter with two goals in under a minute to quickly knot the match at two. Julia Bradford (Edinboro, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) had the answer to the Lakers' second tally, striking just 20 seconds after the equalizer to give SFU back the lead. She'd make it 4-2 with her second goal of the quarter as the Red Flash quickly regained their two-goal lead. Out of a timeout, the Lakers would again draw within one, making it 4-3 with just under three minutes to play in the half. Bradford made it three second-period goals and netting a hat trick with a late dagger for Saint Francis, scoring with just six seconds left in the half and sending SFU into the half up 5-3. 

Breanna Dupperon (Regina, Canada/Campbell Collegiate) struck for her first of three second-half goals early in the third to allow SFU to double up Mercyhurst at 6-3. The teams traded goals late in the quarter with Dupperon answering the Lakers' goal with her second with just 39 seconds remaining. The Lakers would make it 7-5 with a goal just 20 seconds later and the high-octane final minute was capped by a true buzzer beater. Caroline Gillespie (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn High School) beat the third-quarter horn with her only goal of the day with just one second remaining in the period and giving SFU a three-goal cushion at 8-5. With time on their side, the Red Flash were comfortable letting the clock drain as neither team scored in the first four minutes of the final quarter. Mercyhurst finally dented the scoreboard with 3:54 remaining to make it 8-6 only to see Dupperon add her third goal of the day with 1:38 remaining to push the lead back to three. The Lakers had one final push, scoring twice in the final 70 seconds. However, their final tally came with just eight seconds left and the Red Flash were able to run out the clock and secure the victory. 

SFU 11 GANNON 9
The nightcap was one of runs between the Golden Knights and Red Flash. After splitting the first two goals, the Red Flash ripped off four in a row to take a 5-1 lead. Ani Aghakhanian (La Crescenta, Calif/La Valley College) made the most of her senior day, scoring three times during the run. Gannon would chip away at the lead, scoring twice in the final minute of the quarter to make it 5-3 Saint Francis after the opening eight minutes. The Golden Knights kept the momentum going, scoring the first two goals of the second quarter to draw even with SFU at five-all. Julia Bradford (Edinboro, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) scored the first of her two tallies, right off a SFU penalty kill to give the Red Flash back the lead, Cam Nguyen (Mason, Ohio/Mason) made it 7-5 with her only goal of the day as things swung back in favor of the Red Flash. Gannon had one more tally in them before the half, cutting the lead to 7-6 after the opening two quarters. 

Caroline Gillespie (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn High School) opening the third-quarter scoring, making it a two-goal lead for the Red Flash with her only goal of the night and Breanna Dupperon (Regina, Canada/Campbell Collegiate) piggy-backed that goal with one of her own to stretch the lead out to three. The Gannon defense turned stout, keeping the Red Flash off the scoreboard the rest of the quarter and fought off a pair of exclusions. The Knights' offense went to work, scoring three times over the final six minutes of the quarter to bring the teams all square at nine heading into the fourth. Erin O'Neill (Landsdale, Pa/North Penn) fired a goal into the short side two minutes into the quarter. It proved to be the game winner as the Saint Francis' defense shutdown Gannon led by Kate Wilke's (Burbank, Calif./Burroughs) three saves, the graduating junior had 11 stops on the night. Bradford added an insurance goal with 49 seconds left in the match and Saint Francis moved to 2-0 on the season in their home pool. 

The Red Flash will get a well-deserved weekend off before heading to Washington D.C. for the George Washington mini on March 30th. Saint Francis will take on Harvard and Bucknell on Saturday before taking on host George Washington on Sunday.