Saint Leo, Fla. - A Molly Beck free-position goal with just 23 seconds remaining in regulation snapped a 17-all stalemate, providing Saint Anselm College an 18-17 victory over Georgian Court University in a NCAA Division II women's lacrosse thriller played on the beautiful campus of Saint Leo University.

The final marks the second straight 18-17 decision for the Lions (1-3) after defeating #13 NYIT by the same score a week ago. The Hawks improve to 1-2 with the triumph.

GCU controlled most of the first half, jumping out to a 7-4 lead with 12:56 remaining before intermission. Saint Anselm responded with six unanswered goals to take control with a 10-7 surplus eight seconds into the second stanza. 

Having experience with these close contests, the Lions kept their cool and calmly netted seven of the game's next eight tallies to go ahead by three (14-11) at the 19:49 mark of the half. The Hawks responded with four of the next five scores to knot the game at 15-all with 12:22 to go.

After each squad popped in another goal apiece to make it 16-16 at 5:48, GCU's Nicole Barbella put GCU ahead with an unassisted effort at 3:42. Saint Anselm's Emma Palumbo responded to tie the game for the half's fourth tie with an equalizer at 2:23, setting the stage for her teammate's game-winner exactly two minutes later.

Zoie Cavotta earned the hard-fought victory in net for the Hawks with 10 saves over 60:00. Amber Neumann, the newly-crowned CACC Defensive Player of the Week, registered an incredible 20 saves in her complete-game effort.

The Hawks outshot the Lions, 45-31, including a 38-27 shots-on-goal margin.

Samantha Fernandez and Taylor Bauerband paced the Lions with five and four goals, respectively. Barbella distributed five assists while Arianna Quinlan, the CACC Player of the Week, dished a balanced attack consisting of two goals and two assists.

Georgian Court will conclude its Florida trip Wednesday afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. showdown vs. Mercy College in Davenport, Fla.