CHESTER, Pa. – Lebanon Valley sprinted to a 3-0 halftime lead, then held off Widener the rest of the way as the Flying Dutchmen clinched their 17th straight MAC or Commonwealth Conference playoff appearance as LVC defeated the Pride 3-1 in a Commonwealth Conference match on Thursday.

Messiah College defeated Juniata College 1-0 on Thursday, moving LVC into a tie with Elizabethtown for first place in the Commonwealth standings.

Senior Mallary Anderson and junior Christine Schairer converted a penalty stroke 20 minutes apart to give Lebanon Valley (13-2, 5-1 CC) a 2-0 advantage with 10:54 remaining in the opening half. Junior Alyssa Stine completed the Valley's scoring when she converted a pass from senior Claire Behney with 2:52 left in the stanza.

Widener (10-5, 3-3 CC) made it a two-goal game with 19:54 on the clock when Jaime Carr scored her 18th goal of the season. But the Pride was unable to slip another shot by senior goalie Katie Pawlewicz, who finished with seven saves.

Kate Heritage was credited with 10 saves for Widener.

Lebanon Valley closes out its Commonwealth Conference regular season schedule on Tuesday, when it visits Moravian College at 3:30 p.m. With a win, LVC can clinch the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the upcoming Commonwealth Conference playoffs. The Valley also plays Villa Julie College this Saturday at 1 p.m. in a non-conference outing.

Lebanon Valley  3   0   -   3
Widener         0   1   -   1

LV – Mallary Anderson (penalty stroke), 3:42
LV – Christine Schairer (penalty stroke), 24:06
LV – Alyssa Stine (Claire Behney), 32:08
W – Jaime Carr (Kelly Eash), 50:06

Shots: Lebanon Valley 20. Widener 12.
Saves: Lebanon Valley (Katie Pawlewicz) 7. Widener (Kate Heritage) 10.
Penalty Corners: Lebanon Valley 8. Widener 10.
Team Records: Lebanon Valley 13-2, 5-1 CC. Widener 10-5, 3-3 CC.

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