Box Score
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Notre Dame College women's lacrosse team defeated the Charleston Golden Eagles in a Mountain East Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon, 18-7. The Falcons held a 14-4 advantage at halftime and cruised to the finish line as they earned the MEC victory.

Caitlin Howard scored the opening goal of the game for the Falcons at the 27:40 mark of the first half, giving NDC the early lead. The host Golden Eagles responded with a goal to tie the score at 1-1, but it was all Falcons from there.

With the score tied 1-1, Howard scored her second goal of the game, assisted by Darbie Barkman to spark an avalanche of Falcons goals. NDC rattled off six straight goals to jump out to a 7-1 lead midway through the first half, using goals from Howard, Barkman and Brooke Czarnecki in the process.

The Falcons continued dominant play throughout the remainder of the half, matching every Charleston goal with two or more of their own. At halftime, the Falcons held a comfortable 14-4 lead over the Golden Eagles. 

In the second half, scoring slowed for each side but the Falcons still came out on top. Charleston scored the opening goal of the second half, but Czarnecki responded with a goal of her own with 27:10 remaining, giving NDC a 15-6 lead. 

Vanessa DeLano and Halie Taylor added one goal each in the second half, and Howard scored once more to put the Falcons up 18-6 with 4:12 remaining. From there, the Falcons cruised to victory over the Golden Eagles, holding on for the 18-7 win.

With the win, the Falcons improve to 6-6 on the season, including a 2-4 mark in MEC play.

Darbie Barkman finished the game with seven goals and two assists while Brooke Czarnecki scored five goals of her own. Caitlin Howard scored three goals, Vanessa DeLano scored two and Halie Taylor added one more goal to aid the Falcons' effort.