FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Gettysburg College women's lacrosse team received its toughest test to date this season from sixth-ranked University of Mary Washington, but the top-ranked Bullets flexed their muscles in the second half and ended the game on a 7-1 run to close out a 12-4 decision on Thursday.
 
Gettysburg (5-0) had won its previous four games by at least 12 goals, but Mary Washington (7-1) dug its heels in defensively and trailed by just two goals early in the second half. The Bullets eventually found their groove and rattled off five consecutive goals over a 10-minute span to blow the game open.
 
Freshman Kerry McKeever (Stony Brook, N.Y./Ward Melville) continued her hot start to the season with four more goals, giving her a team-best 17 this spring. Senior Katie Willis (Baltimore, Md./Notre Dame Prep) tossed in a trio of goals, while sophomore Liza Barr (Medford, N.J./Shawnee) managed a pair of tallies.
 
Defensively, junior Bailey Pilder (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) recorded a personal best 11 saves and scooped up three ground balls. Senior Ali Gorab (Southport, Conn./Ludlowe) secured two ground balls and a caused turnover, while sophomore Claire Macatee (Street, Md./North Harford) swooped in for a career-high five ground balls.
 
Allison Davis tallied a pair of goals, while Mackenzie Maguire recorded a goal, two ground balls, and three caused turnovers for Mary Washington.
 
Gettysburg broke out goals on its first two possessions as Willis scored on a free-position 29 seconds in and McKeever scored on the same type of shot 46 seconds later. McKeever added another unassisted tally and sophomore Courtney Patterson (Whitehouse Station, N.J./Hunterdon Central Regional) scored an advantage goal to make it 4-0 just over 10 minutes into the contest.
 
The Bullets committed five turnovers during the next 10 minutes and Mary Washington took advantage with a pair of goals. Another advantage goal, this time by Barr, handed the visitors a 5-2 lead heading into the locker room.
 
A slow start for Gettysburg in the second half led to the Eagles slicing the deficit down to two (5-3) on a free-position goal by Holly Hudson with 22:27 remaining.
 
Pilder came up with a big save on a free-position shot less than a minute later, igniting both the offense and defense for the Bullets. The offense rattled off five consecutive goals with junior Steph Colson (Westminster, Md./Manchester Valley) making it a 10-3 advantage with 9:38 to play. Pilder made three stops and the defense forced an additional trio of turnovers during the scoring streak.
 
After the Eagles scored with 3:30 left, junior Lauren Cole (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) and Willis polished off the game's scoring.
 
Gettysburg finished with a slight edge in shots (24-23) and draw controls (10-8).
 
The Bullets face their third consecutive top-10 foe in a row with a road trip to No. 9 York (Pa.) College on Wednesday, March 21, at 6 p.m.