Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. - #7 Lebanon Valley opened an early 3-0 lead, then held off Elizabethtown, 5-2, in Commonwealth Conference action on Tuesday.

The Dutchmen (15-2, 5-1 CC) ensured at least a tie for second in the conference standings with the win; a win over Widener on Friday, or a Widener loss to Arcadia tomorrow, will clinch the #2 seed in the playoffs, and a home semifinal game, for LVC.

The Blue Jays (11-6, 5-2 CC), needing the win to have a shot at a home semifinal, will now have to hit the road next week for the semis.

The drizzling, miserable afternoon resulted in plenty of slipping and sliding by both teams, but LVC overcame the conditions and dominated the early going, scoring three times in a span of 2:26 to comfortably go out in front.

Caitlin Vasey tipped in Allison Bicher's pass at 12:49 to start the scoring, and Jocelyn Novak took a pass from Vasey off the restart to make it 2-0 just 23 seconds later. Novak added her second, and 23rd goal of the year, at 15:15 when she tipped Shelly Lobach's shot under the pads of Liz Hannegan.

E-town came back and scored on their first shot of the game, with Meg Cassels finding Liz DeMatteis at 22:51.

Bicher added some cushion with her goal at 42:26, redirecting a chest-high attempt from Lobach, but a persistant Blue Jays attack added a goal moments later. After killing off a man-down situation from Caitlin Smith's yellow card, Julie Foster picked a ball out of traffic and shot between her legs to score unassisted at 50:18.

But Vasey and Bicher, as they did on the game's first goal, teamed up again for the final one, with the freshman redirecting Bicher's cross with 1:23 left in the game to make it 5-2.

LVC then held off the late Blue Jays charge, with Caitlin Baro making three saves in the final minute.

Lebanon Valley outshot E-town 26-7, and held a 14-3 penalty corners advantage. Hannegan stopped 12 shots, and Baro had three saves.

LVC will host Widener Friday at 4 p.m. in the regular-season finale.