WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Bella Fisher (Duxbury, Mass.) scored a career-high five goals to power Saint Francis past Kent State 12-9 in non-conference women's lacrosse action on Friday.
>> With the win, the Red Flash is off to its best start in program history at 4-1. The squad has also won a program record three games in a row.
>> Kelly Dickson (Blue Bell, Pa.) notched her first career hat trick, while adding an assist and three ground balls.
>> Autumn McHenry (Branford, Conn.) tallied three assists, six draw controls, five ground balls and two caused turnovers.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
After the Golden Flashes tied the game at 2 in the first quarter, the Red Flash started the second quarter with three-straight tallies to take the lead it would not relinquish. Fisher opened the run with an 8-meter goal at 14:03 and then the freshman found the back of the twine off a pass from McHenry 55 seconds later. Julia Givens (Elverson, Pa.) completed the 3-0 spurt off a feed from Dickson at 12:06 for a 5-2 lead.

Kent State registered the next two markers after Givens' score, but Dickson (3:29) and Fisher (1:59) answered to give Saint Francis a 7-4 lead at halftime and Kent State would get no closer until the final four minutes of the game.

FLASH QUOTES
"I'm very happy with how well the team stepped up to the challenge today. Kent State is a tough opponent with an amazing offense. Our defensive unit did an excellent job shutting down their top threats. We had multiple scoring opportunities generated by our pressure defense causing so many turnovers. Anytime you have seven players involved in scoring it's a good day. That's what makes us a dangerous team. We have multiple scoring threats that can't be stopped." - head coach Tracy Coyne on the game 

"We definitely enjoyed celebrating the milestone victory after the game. Not only was this a great team win, it's an awesome milestone for the lacrosse program. Our goal remains becoming one of the best teams in the NEC." - Coyne on starting the season with its best start in program history

FLASH MOMENTS
Fisher has scored the first goal of the game in four of the five matches this season (all four games she has registered a goal) and she continued that trend on Friday off a feed from McHenry at 13:54 in the first quarter for a 1-0 lead. McHenry would then team up with her fellow co-captain Dickson for a 2-1 edge with 9:47 left in the first quarter.

Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week Danielle Hernandez (New Fairfield, Conn.) started the scoring in the third quarter at 10:37 for her first tally of the season. After a Golden Flashes tally, Dickson completed her first career hat trick off an assist from Hernandez at 6:01 before Fisher reached a career-best five scores unassisted with 4:49 on the clock for a 10-5 advantage.

Brooke Lacey (Bethel, Conn.) found the twine to start the final quarter at 11:51 off a connection from Givens, the current NEC Rookie of the Week. After four-straight Kent State scores, Hernandez sealed the win with a tally at 2:34 in the fourth quarter. Hernandez finished the game with two goals and an assist for her second-straight multi-goal performance.

FLASH NUGGETS
Saint Francis is off to its best start in program history after five games, besting both the 2010 and 2017 teams that opened those campaigns 3-2. It was also the team's third-straight victory to mark the first time since the 2019 season the team has enjoyed three-consecutive wins and the sixth time in program history. A win in its next game would be a program-record four-game winning streak.

Fisher finished the game one off the program record for goals in a game for freshman with her five tallies on Friday. Chelsea Kent holds the freshman record with six scores against Niagara (March 12, 2009) and against Howard (March 18, 2009), which also sits tied for ninth on the single-game charts. Fisher is the first freshman with a handful of goals since Emileigh Scott registered five markers against Robert Morris on April 13, 2018. Fisher is the third player to score five times in a game under head coach Tracy Coyne, joining Scott (five times) and Amanda Heidt (four times). The freshman has grabbed five draw controls three times in the first five games and leads the team with 23 draw controls and 12 goals.

Dickson, who came into the season with one goal and three assists, has six goals and six assists for 12 points this season. It was the second multi-goal game of the season after registering a then career-best two goals and three assists for five points against Longwood on February 22. She added three ground balls for the second time this season.

With her three assists, McHenry moved into second place by herself with 63 career helpers on the program's all-time career assist list. The graduate student is 13 assists from tying Katie Schaaf's (76, 2013-16) program record for assists. McHenry also moved up two spots into fourth place on the all-time career points list with 151 points. She had her 22-consecutive games with a goal streak stopped, but McHenry has registered a point in her last 23 matches. The graduate student has grabbed five draw controls or more 13 times in her career and five or more ground balls for the second time in her career.

Elyssa Enrique (North Canton, Ohio), the current NCAA Division I leader in save percentage and NEC Defensive Player of the Week, turned away six shots in the winning effort. It is the third time this season she has held an opponent under 10 goals.

Givens finished the game with a goal and an assist, a career-high five draw controls and three ground balls. Chyler Espino (San Francisco, Calif.) added three ground balls, two caused turnovers and a caused turnover.

NEXT TIME OUT
After playing in the snow for the majority of the start of the season, Saint Francis will head to the Sunshine State to face Stetson on Tuesday. Match time is 11:30 a.m.