WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Despite Saint Francis jumping out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter, the game turned into a nail biter and needed sophomore Chyler Espino (San Francisco, Calif.) to cause a turnover in front of the cage in the defensive end to preserve a 19-18 win for the Red Flash against Stonehill in Northeast Conference (NEC) women's lacrosse action on Saturday.
>> The Skyhawks scored two unanswered goals in the final minute to make it a one-goal game and then won the ensuing draw control with 33 seconds left. Stonehill was driving toward the cage when Espino caused the miscue and scooped up the ground ball and was able to get the ball up the field as time expired.
>> Autumn McHenry (Branford, Conn.) registered four goals and two assists, tied a career-high with 10 draw controls, three caused turnovers and two ground balls. The graduate student also registered her 100th career goal in the first quarter and her 200th career draw control in the third quarter.
>> Danielle Hernandez (New Fairfield, Conn.) had a career day with a career-high four goals and five assists for nine points. Both the assists and points marks are one off program records for the Red Flash.
>> Julia Givens (Elverson, Pa.) added a career-high five goals and one assist for six points.

TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Saint Francis jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first quarter that included scoring nine answered goals. Hernandez was the catalyst of the spurt with three tallies and two assists.
 
Stonehill then registered the next 14 of 21 goals to make it a one-goal game at 17-16 with 4:04 on the clock. McHenry then thought she might put the hay in the barn with a goal off an assist from Kelly Dickson (Blue Bell, Pa.) at 2:32 and then Givens converted a free-position attempt with 73 seconds left for a three-goal lead at 19-16.
 
Stonehill then won the next three draw controls and scored twice to make it 19-18 with 33 seconds left, but Espino's only caused turnover of the day proved the be the difference.

FLASH QUOTES
"What an amazing, gutsy win. Stonehill competed hard and made a furious comeback. We knew what was at stake and found a way to get it done. How we responded to the challenge demonstrated how much our mental toughness has improved in critical situations. There were many outstanding performances today. I'm so happy for Autumn. The fact that she reached two milestones in such an important game speaks to the kind of competitor she is. Autumn always plays to win. This is a special group of athletes. We have been focused all year on changing the narrative around Saint Francis Lacrosse. Beating Stonehill today gets us one step closer to accomplishing our goal." - head coach Tracy Coyne on the game and her team

"It was a good team win all around. We really relied on our defense for the last three minutes. Everyone contributed, even the sidelines they were super hyped." – graduate student Autumn McHenry on the game
 
"That was awesome. I couldn't do it without my teammates setting me up. It is a great milestone, but I am looking to continue to bring success to this team because we are capable of doing a lot that this program has not seen before." – McHenry on scoring her 100th career goal
 
"It was really nerve-wracking for the defense, but we really had to pull it out and make a play. I was getting nervous when they started scoring those goals, but we made a stop, and I am really proud of the defense for that. We were able to finish the game out strong with that defensive stop." – sophomore Chyler Espino on the defense
 
"When I got the ball, the sideline was telling me to keep the ball and keep running. I was really tired but said to myself that I need to do this for the team, and I was really proud of myself and the defense." –Espino on that last play

FLASH MOMENTS
The first quarter belonged to Hernandez, who scored unassisted at 11:44, 8:21 and 4:26. The junior also assisted goals by Givens (6:10), McHenry (5:02) and Lizzie Fisher (Hagerstown, Md.) (3:55) to finish the opening frame with three goals and three assists.
 
McHenry got the scoring started on a free-position goal at 13:09 for her 100th career goal. Bella Fisher (Duxbury, Mass.) (7:14) and Givens (2:21) also scored without the aid of Hernandez in the first 15 minutes. Lizzie Fisher also found twinkled the twine off a McHenry feeder at 10:02.
 
Hernandez had her hand in both goals in the second quarter after setting up Nancy Alden at 13:03 and notching her fourth goal of the afternoon off a Givens pass with 48 second left until halftime to help the Red Flash take a 12-7 lead at the break.
 
McHenry scored the first goal of the second half at 8:34 before Hernandez connected with Lizzie Fisher at 6:15 for her career-high fifth helper of the day. Givens scored back-to-back tallies late in the quarter unassisted at 3:53 and then off a pass from McHenry with 70 seconds left in the quarter to help Saint Francis go into the fourth quarter with a 16-12 edge.

McHenry and Givens scored late in the fourth and Espino made the defensive play of the game to secure the win for the Loretto program.

FLASH NUGGETS
McHenry's milestone day ended with her becoming the third player in program history with 200 draw controls and the sixth player in program history with 100 career goals. She now sits second in assists (69), third in draw controls (206), third in points (171), fourth in caused turnovers (52), sixth in goals (102), eighth in ground balls (93) for her career in program history. The graduate student moved to within seven assists of the program record in the category.
 
McHenry also grabbed 10 draw controls for the second time in her career. She is the fourth player in program history to reach double digits in draw controls in a game and only the second to turn the trick more than once, joining former teammate Emileigh Scott who accomplished the feat nine times in her career.
 
Hernandez dished out five assists to sit one behind the program record held by McHenry and Katie Schaaf. It was the eighth time in program history a player has dished out five or more assists in a game. For the second time in the week Hernandez had a career-high four tallies while her five assists established a new career high, and her nine points are the second most in program history for a single game.
 
Givens registered her fourth hat trick of the season her first career five-goal performance, besting her four goals and points she posted at Stetson on March 14. She ranks third on the team with 18 goals and three assists for 21 points. The 18 goals tie Schaaf's freshmen mark as the 10th most as a freshman in team history.
 
Bella Fisher, the current NEC Co-Rookie of the Week, moved into sixth place with 21 goals after her marker against Stonehill. Her 24 points are the eighth most as a freshman in team history.
 
Lizzie Fisher notched her first hat trick of the season , the fourth of her career and her first since she registered three tallies and three assists in her final game last season against Howard on March 30, 2022.
 
Elyssa Enrique (North Canton, Ohio) turned away 12 shots to move within four saves of 500 stops for her career.
 
Bella Burke (East Moriches, N.Y.) registered a career-best four ground balls and two caused turnovers to pace the defense, while Espino had three ground balls, two draw controls and that all important caused turnover.
 
The Red Flash scored 19 goals in back-to-back games, which is the ninth most goals in a game scored in team history. It is the first time in team history the squad has scored at least 19 points in consecutive games and the fourth time in program history the Red Flash has won back-to-back games.
 
Thanks to two-straight wins, Saint Francis is 6-4 for just the second time in team history (2017), while the team has won six games in a season for the third time in program history.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
Saint Francis returns to action at Merrimack on April 8. Match time is 12 p.m.