SWEET BRIAR, Va.- Looking for their first win of the season, the Randolph women's lacrosse team made the short trip up Route 29 to Sweet Briar on Thursday afternoon. It was a close game throughout but the WildCats were able to hang on for the victory by defeating the Vixens 14-13. The win also marks the first for first-year head coach Bernadette Connor.

Randolph got on the board less than a minute into the first half on a goal by Sarah Perry (Rocky Mount, Va./Franklin County). Sophia Cirone (Stuart, Fla./South Fork HS) put the WildCats ahead 2-0 less than two minutes later. Sweet Briar netted back-to-back scores 41 seconds apart to tie the game up at 2-2. Two more goals by Perry restored the 'Cat lead back up to two, 4-2, with 22:37 remaining in the half.

Following a Vixen score at 18:48, Randolph was able to open up a 7-3 lead with 10:45 showing on the clock. The advantage soon grew to five goals, 9-4, with 1:14 left until halftime. Sweet Briar scored on a free position shot with 22 seconds remaining to play in the period to make it 9-5 at the break.

The second half saw the Vixens make a comeback. Three goals in over two minutes of game time closed the Randolph lead to 9-8 at 24:54. The WildCats were able to put some distance between themselves and the Vixens with three consecutive goals to open a four-goal lead, 12-8, with 14:47 remaining in game time.

Another three-goal burst from SBC closed the game again to one goal, 12-11, with 6:30 left to play. The two teams exchanged scored the rest of the way. Olivia Richards' (Limestone, Tenn./Pinecrest HS) goal with 1:45 to go gave Randolph a 14-12 lead. The Vixens scored with 36 seconds left and looked to win the draw control to attempt to tie the game. Richards won the ensuing draw control and ran out the clock as the WildCats walked away with the win.

The WildCats outshot the Vixens 26-21and led in shots on goal 19-18. Randolph was 15-of-17 on clears and picked up 20 groundballs to 17 for Sweet Briar.

Perry led the way for the 'Cats with eight goals and also tallied an assist. She also won five draw controls, caused four turnovers, and picked up two groundballs. Cirone had a seven-point afternoon with three goals and four assists. She won a team-high seven groundballs, caused four turnovers, and scooped up four groundballs. Richards finished with two goals, four draw controls won, and two groundballs. Molly McNair (Cordeaux Heights, New South Wales/Figtree scored once and tallied two assists while causing two turnovers and picked up a groundball. Cristina Bergenguer-Llongueras (Barcelona, Spain) led in groundballs with five and caused turnovers with six.

The two teams face each other again on March 24 at WildCat Stadium. Game time will be at 5:00 p.m.